Shisui
by Lady Hanaka
Summary: Pein's plan is finally coming to fruition. Now Itachi and Sakura must come accept their future...and come to terms with their past. Sides will be chosen and loyalties tested. The only question is: who will win this deadly game? Sequel to Maelstrom. ON HIATUS
1. Prologue

**Around 1 year later...**

_Sakura held her close, hands tightening around the blanket Mikomi was wrapped in. Mikomi seemed to understand that something important was happening and she surprisingly kept quiet. She contented herself with tugging on Sakura's hair—a favorite little game of hers._

_Sakura heard the footsteps coming closer and she pressed her lips to Mikomi's hair, trying to hide her chakra level as much as possible._

Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry. _She urged silently. _Just stay quiet a little longer, honey.

_Snap._

Oh god.

_At the sound of a twig breaking to her left she froze, eyes wide. She felt like a frightened, trapped rabbit, afraid her heart might explode from her chest due to its furious beating. The sound of the breaking branch echoed throughout the forest. When it ended, however, she could hear nothing. There was silence, before the footsteps echoed away._

_Sakura did not allow herself any relief, however, as she tucked Mikomi gently into the baby's traveling pack once more, running in the direction of Suna. She had to get to Suna…Suna was where Kankuro and Gaara were. Suna was safety. It was one step closer to Konoha. One step closer to home._

No one to help me…no one but them…can't…just…

_Before she knew it he was standing in front of her, his doujutsu blazing as he gave a calm, patient smile and held out his hand. Behind him stood the others, their gazes cold and unwavering._

NO! Stay away! All of you stay away! Traitors!_ She roared silently, like a mother bear protecting her cub._

_Sakura shook her head furiously, taking a step backwards. She wouldn't let him touch Mikomi. There was no way in hell that she would let her daughter go._

_"Very well." His voice was low and calm. "Then you will pay the price."_

Stay back you bastard! I will tear you to pieces! _But she knew she couldn't, even as she tried to dodge, feeling kunai slice at her arms and stomach. She gasped, twisting her body around to block a stray kunai from Mikomi. It slammed into her back, making her give a soft cry._

_"Foolish."_

_Pain lanced through her body as Mikomi was wrenched from her grasp. _

No_! She'd fight death tooth and nail to protect her daughter. She wouldn't give in. She couldn't! _Take your hands off of her you bastard! Don't touch her! Leave her alone! GIVE ME MY DAUGHTER BACK!

_Her eyes began closing as a cold wave swept through her, a strange contradiction to the hot blood that was seeping out of her body. She fell to her knees, blood bubbling to her lips as she reached out a hand to her daughter, vision blurring._

No…please…don't…

_Mikomi opened her mouth and let out an unearthly wail—_

Sakura's eyes shot open, hand coming up to press against her chest, heart thumping wildly. She breathed in raggedly, twisting her head this way and that as she searched the darkened room for anything suspicious.

She heard soft crying to her right and let out a small sigh of relief. Just a dream…

"She's hungry."

Sakura looked over at the still form lying on the bed next to her and glared. "Your powers of observation are amazing, Itachi." Then she gave a soft sigh, slipping out of bed and heading towards the crib leaning against the wall.

When she got there the crying had stopped, and her little daughter was standing up at the edge of the crib, smiling triumphantly up at her. It was a smile that read: _Hello mommy, ready to lose three more hours of sleep?_

Sakura gave a soft sigh before she leaned forward, catching Mikomi as her little legs gave out on her and she fell backwards. Mikomi was a smart little girl already, able to stand on her own. Walking had come to her as easily as breathing.

She _was_ the daughter of a prodigy after all.

Sakura pulled down the shoulder of her sleeping gown and Mikomi immediately went for her breast. Weaning her off of breast milk was proving to be a little difficult.

Mikomi gave a small gurgle, "Mmmamauh." It came out a little muffled, but Sakura merely smiled. Mikomi had picked up speech early, and could say quite a few things. But it was still amazing to Sakura when Mikomi looked at her and called her mama.

She felt someone come up behind her and knew it was Itachi.

"I have a mission." He called out emotionlessly, almost a whisper as he watched Mikomi's eyes begin to drift shut.

Sakura nodded her head slowly. Leader-sama still sent them on missions—trivial ones meant only to keep them occupied and in good fighting condition—which meant that one of them was always watching Mikomi while the other went on the mission. At first it had always been Sakura at home with Mikomi. But as Mikomi got a little older Sakura had finally convinced Itachi to stay home with her while _she_ went on a mission.

She had needed to get out of the house, even if only for a few hours. At first, she had thought it would be good for both parties—she'd get to leave the house and Itachi would get some alone time with their daughter. Oh how wrong she'd been.

She had spent most of the mission worrying frantically about whether or not something had gone wrong. What if someone attacked the base? What if Mikomi got sick? She had finished the mission in record time and had run back to the house to find an adorable sight.

Itachi had been sitting on the bed with Mikomi—who had already figured out how to sit up as well as crawl—and was trying desperately to wash her face. Apparently he'd fed her—she'd begun eating baby food—or rather, had tried to feed her. Most of the baby food was on her hands and face…and in Itachi's hair.

Sakura had surprisingly kept a straight face as she smiled; humming softly as she wiped Mikomi's face and told Itachi he could go take a shower.

"Stay safe." She whispered back to him, feeling his warm breath on the back of her neck, "Leader-sama wants us at the main base tomorrow for a meeting."

"Hn."

"See you then." She answered back.

Itachi brushed his fingers across Mikomi's hair, making her giggle as she reached up for him. He merely pulled his hand away, walking towards the door. Mikomi's face scrunched up as if she wanted to cry, before it relaxed as Sakura began to bounce her.

The door closed behind Itachi, engulfing Sakura and Mikomi in silence.

Sakura held Mikomi closer to her instinctively, pressing a kiss to her temple. Mikomi began squirming, making a face as she tried to push her face away, wanting more milk.

_It was only a dream, Sakura…_

She swallowed, her throat dry.

_…but why did it feel so real?_

**(A\N: And so it begins. :D The beginning of the last istallment in this series. This story, while following the main plotline, one of the main focuses is on Itachi and Sasuke rebuilding their relationship...and learning about the relationships Itachi held with other members of the Uchiha Clan. THAT is why it is named Shisui. Because yes, it means Still Waters...but it also deals with one of the main plotlines in the fact that Shisui was his best friend...and perhaps we will get some insight into Itachi's choices and reasons for killing the Uchiha Clan...until then, see ya!**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	2. Chapter 1: The Stonecutter

**(A/N: Hey everybody! Sorry about the wait…this chapter was a tough one to write because it's just kind of an introduction to everything. The actually interesting stuff will hopefully begin in the next chapter. So I tried to make this one interesting with little Mikomi scenes. :D Oh and for those of you who are worried that this story isn't going to be as action-packed…well actually, this one will probably have more action than the others. It's just that this one will also focus a lot on the Uchiha Clan and Sasuke and Itachi's relationships. So yeah…anyway, enough babbling. On with the story!) **

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**The Stonecutter**

She didn't think about the dream again over the next two years. It drifted to the back of her consciousness, not forgotten but certainly not remembered very clearly. Besides, she had much more pressing things on her mind than a simple nightmare. The most important of those pressing things was a black-haired, green-eyed child who was currently M.I.A.

Sakura sighed, a bit frustrated, as she trudged down the hall. Since Itachi had been sent on a mission by Leader-sama to gather a scroll in Mist, Sakura had been a bit pressed for time in regards to watching and taking care of Mikomi. Leader-sama seemed to be trying to send her and Itachi on as many mundane missions as possible. It was keeping them away from Mikomi…and that was one way to definitely get Sakura angry.

And, as Deidara had so playfully put it, ever since Sakura had given birth to Mikomi she'd become like an overprotective mother bear. And no one gets between and angry bear and her cub. And so now, after coming back from a week long mission on the outskirts of Waterfall gathering information from one of the Akatsuki's contacts from Stone, she was just ready to spend time with her little girl again. But that was proving to be near impossible at the moment, and mother bear was _not_ happy.

Especially after she'd seen the nasty habits Mikomi had begun picking up from her 'uncles'. The last time she'd come home Mikomi had been placing her hand on Kisame's sword, marveling at it's ability to eat chakra while Kisame told her all about how it could 'shear skin clean off the bone, like skinning a rabbit'. Dear god her daughter did _not_ need to have those kinds of images running through her head! Sakura didn't care _how_ much of a prodigy her daughter was…she was still a child!

And then _Deidara_ had introduced her to the wonders of exploding clay. After Sakura had threatened to see just how much clay would have to be shoved down Deidara's throat to make him explode _permanently_ Deidara had realized that perhaps teaching his little surrogate daughter clay-jutsu was merely a one-way ticket to extreme pain.

If Sakura had her way, Mikomi would grow up like a normal little girl with frilly dresses and big pink bows and her only worries would be over which dress to wear and whether or not her crush liked her. There would be no complicated and dark questions or fears. No death and blood.

But Sakura knew it was pointless to think that way…and so she merely dreamed that her daughter would be brought into this life slowly. She should have realized that living with the Akatsuki would make that impossible.

Sakura sighed softly. _I just wish that I knew what Leader-sama was planning. He hasn't spoken a word about the demons ever since I gave him that scroll…_to say she was a little worried would be an understatement. But Itachi had merely shrugged her concern off, saying that Leader's plan would come in due time and she needn't worry. They would be safe.

But she wasn't worried about herself or Mikomi or Itachi. She was worried about Naruto, Kakashi, Sai, Ino, Tsunade…she was worried about Konoha and Sunagakure and Tazuna the bridge builder and his grandson Inari, and Shibuki from Waterfall, and everyone else who could possibly be hurt when Leader's plan was finally enacted.

_God this is so damn frustrating!_ She continued down the hallway, shrugging off her tattered Akatsuki cloak as she went. While her mission had been a rather simple one she'd run into a few Stone-nin who hadn't been too keen on letting their 'traitorous spy' go. So she'd had to kill them to keep the informant safe. _And now look, I'm going to have to sew it again. And it's stained, _she grumbled silently.

Kisame and Deidara were currently in their respective rooms so she knew that Mikomi was not with them. She'd passed the two on their way out of the kitchen a few minutes earlier. She was beginning to become a bit more than just a _little_ annoyed.

Anytime she didn't know where Mikomi was she panicked. Partly because it was a mother's immediate reaction and emotion to such things…and partly because she knew that they were Akatsuki…and Leader-sama's cryptic answers to her questions always made her wonder just what he was thinking…and what dark agenda he had planned for them all.

She was running out of places that Mikomi could be, and so she searched for a certain member's chakra signature. Her favorite s-class puppeteer was most likely sitting in the tea room fixing his puppets from his earlier spar with Deidara and Kisame.

Sakura placed a cheerful smile on her face as she slid open the door.

"Ah, Sasori-san, do you know where Mikomi is--" Sakura walked into the room and slowly stopped, eyes narrowing a bit at the sight in front of her. Sasori was currently carving something out of wood, which wasn't really all that surprising. What _was_ surprisingly was the little girl sitting in front of him watching him work, a small kunai in her hand as she tried desperately to follow his lead.

The small cuts on her fingers were bright red, and Sakura could see that the blood had stained the block of wood she was holding. But Mikomi didn't cry out. Her face was scrunched up as she tried to ignore the pain and keep going. She was a big girl, she wouldn't cry.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked coldly, gaze fixated on the two of them.

Mikomi looked up before she held out her little block of wood with a trembling, triumphant smile. "Doll."

Mikomi's 'doll' was merely a block of wood with several deep gashes in it. She'd tried her hardest to smooth one side of the square block into a semblance of a head. It had a _slightly _circular shape to it.

Sakura knelt down next to her daughter, taking her hands in her own and healing them easily. "And what a pretty doll it is," She cooed, looking at the piece of chopped wood. "Why don't you go show it to Deidara?"

Mikomi nodded, standing up and walking out of the room with the doll in hand. She shot one last glance back at her mother, as if she knew that her mother wasn't too pleased with Sasori at the moment. But her face was a look of childish acceptance with the fact that 'nobody wants to be around when mommy is angry' as she shut the door behind her.

There was a moment of silence as Sakura leaned against the wall and looked at the red-headed Akatsuki member.

Sasori continued to carve, not sparing a glance at Sakura.

"What the hell do you think you are doing, Sasori?" She snapped. "She's _three-years-old_. You can't just hand her a kunai and tell her to carve something!"

"She's a smart girl."

As if Sakura didn't know that already. How many other three-year-olds could speak in full sentences?

Sakura's eyes flickered angrily. "She isn't going to end up like us. She isn't going to be Akatsuki. So stop trying to make her into your little clone, dammit." Her hands clenched tightly._ I won't let her grow up to become a cold-blooded killer._ "First it's Kisame and his damn sword, then Deidara and his clay. Now you and your _fucking puppets_! I _know_ she's smart. I _know _she's capable. But she is _my _child, not yours! And when Itachi finds out about this--" Mother bear was on a rampage.

"He has already agreed to it." Sasori answered back smoothly. "He said that Mikomi needed to learn to fight."

This only made Sakura angrier. That was definitely not the best thing to say, not when she was already angry, tired, and dirty. It was like adding wood to an already raging fire. "Is that so? Well…I'll need to have a talk with him when he gets back, won't I?"

Sasori gave a small smile, "I suppose you will."

Sakura merely stomped out of the room surrounded by a murderous aura. Sasori watched her go with a contemplative gaze. _Do not forget Haruno-san…she is a child of the Akatsuki…and she will be trained as a child of the Akatsuki. You, nor anyone else for that matter, can change those facts._

_

* * *

_

"Okaasan is angry?" Mikomi whispered as Sakura walked into the hallway. Sakura froze, looking over at the small form sitting against the wall.

"Mikomi…" Sakura sighed. "Why didn't you go and show your doll to Deidara?"

Mikomi merely shook her head, which translated as: I didn't want to because I know you're mad at him too. Sakura bit her lip, knowing what Mikomi was trying to say and not liking it at all. Too smart…she was too damned smart for a little girl her age. _I won't let her become like Itachi…and he knows it._ In fact, Itachi was the one who seemed the most adamant in making her as little like him as possible.

And Sakura knew why. He didn't want to be his father, he didn't want to be the man that he had loathed and eventually killed.

But why was he doing this then? Why was he allowing them to train her? Mikomi didn't know that what they were teaching her was so she could go out and kill. She couldn't understand it, no matter how smart she was at her age.

"Do you want to stay in Okaasan's room then?" Sakura finally asked, "You can play with one of mommy's cats, ok?"

Mikomi's face lit up with a small smile as she nodded vigorously. She loved playing with Sakura's clay cats.

"Alright." Sakura kissed the top of Mikomi's head and watched her squirm a bit at the touch, looking embarrassed. Sakura merely smiled. "I need to go to a meeting, but I'll be back, ok?"

"Mission?"

"No." Sakura shook her head. "Leader-sama just wants all of us to be there."

"Come?" One word questions and answers seemed to be her favorite response. Like her father, she seemed to think that the less words used the better.

"No." Sakura said sternly. "You stay in the room, ok? Don't come out for anyone except me or daddy, alright?"

Mikomi nodded before she walked back down the hallway towards the room she shared with her parents when they visited the main base in Rain. Sakura waited until she heard the door close--and lock--before she turned to see Sasori standing in the doorway.

She merely stood, heading down the hallway. He sidled alongside her and the silence between them was a bit tense, but nothing unexpected from either side.

"You are angry." Sasori murmured as they made their way to where Kisame and Deidara stood by the entrance to the meeting room. "That is to be expected and understood."

As they reached Deidara and Kisame--who gave Sakura curious glances at her angered visage--Sakura answered back in a cold voice with barely contained rage, "I'm not angry." She reached for the door and slid it open before she whispered.

"I am _fucking pissed_."

Then she walked into the room.

* * *

"I am glad everyone could join us." Pein's cold voice reverberated through the darkened room. Sakura noticed the illusion versions of Hidan, Kakuzu, Tobi, and Itachi. She sent a glare Itachi's way that she was sure he saw and ignored, before nodding at Pein.

He gaze was fixed on her, and she could almost see his dark smile from within the shadows. He continued to unnerve her, he always had ever since their chess game so long ago. She merely averted her gaze, taking her seat beside Kisame.

"I have called you here to tell you a very important piece of information."

The room was deathly silent.

"I have decided…that we will soon enact our plan."

"About fucking time." Hidan muttered under his breath. Konan shot him a glare.

Pein merely gave a dark chuckle. "It is good to see that you are so eager, Hidan…I hope the rest of you are as well." And once again his gaze landed on Sakura, who once again promptly ignored him. Her stomach began to roll with nervousness and apprehension.

"We will cleanse this world…and rebuild it anew."

"And what of our allies?" Sakura finally asked, looking up hurriedly as she swallowed. Her throat felt thick and dry. Everyone turned to look at her, while Hidan and Kakuzu whispered something about a, 'weak and pathetic kunoichi'. Pein locked eyes with her and they remained that way for a few minutes before he spoke.

"Our allies will be…compensated for their losses."

"Should they not be working with us?" Sakura asked, trying not to let her anger from moments earlier seep into her voice. The last thing she needed was to anger Leader. She remembered what had happened the last time she'd been that foolish. "We can't just turn our backs on them and tell them that they will be _compensated for their losses_." _Don't talk to him like that Sakura. You know what will happen. Stop trying to piss people off!_

Leader's eyes flickered dangerously.

"Itachi!" Konan growled. "Shut up your idiotic wife before I do it for you." Konan and Sakura had always been at odds, and their dislike for each other had slowly grown into loathing. Especially after Sakura learned that it was Konan who had told the Akatsuki that she had betrayed them. The last three years were spotted with confrontations that would have surely broken into violence if it hadn't been for the other members pulling the two woman away from one another.

"Is that a threat, Konan-san?" Sakura hissed, standing. Everyone turned to look at the two women as Konan took a step towards the shorter female. Pink and blue clashed horribly as the two continued to glare at one another.

"Stand down, Sakura." Itachi's emotionless monotone drifted throughout the room. "You are making a scene." _Sakura, there are other times for this. _She heard his hidden message.

Sakura's hands clenched tightly, and her nails broke the skin, making small pinpricks of pain as blood seeped beneath her fingernails. _Don't you dare order me around, Itachi. You are going to get one hell of a lecture the moment you get back here as it is. Don't piss me off even more. _Then she loosened her grip as she noticed Konan smirking and Pein watching her in silent amusement. She wouldn't give them the pleasure of seeing her do anything foolish.

She merely breathed in deeply, sitting herself down. "We will speak of this later then, Konan...when you don't have my husband to watch your back for you."

She heard Kisame cough, trying to hold back a small laugh while Deidara's lips tilted into a smile. The amusement in Pein's eyes seemed to grow as Konan simmered with anger before she clenched her mouth shut, giving a derisive snort.

"Let us continue." Pein drawled, leaning back in his seat. "Since the two of you are on such good terms…Sakura, you and Konan will head to Cloud to inform the Raikage of my plans. Konan has the scroll that you will need to deliver to him. I hope you can deal with your issues by the time you return."

"What?" Konan and Sakura both growled at the same time, but for completely different reasons. While Sakura _really_ didn't want to be in the same vicinity as Konan…she was more worried about her daughter than anything else.

"Itachi will arrive back at the base in one day." Pein explained and his gaze glistened sinisterly, in a way that made Sakura want to crawl into a corner, shut her eyes, and cry. She hated that look… "Your daughter will be safe for that long with Deidara and the others, will she not?" It was almost as if he questioned the fact himself, and that made her even more afraid.

Sakura bit her lip to keep from saying anything else she might regret as she nodded. The look that Konan shot Pein was almost pleading, but the look he gave her in return stopped her silent appeal immediately. She winced at his glare, nodding meekly as she turned to give Sakura one last, defiant glare.

"That is all." Pein drawled. "When Konan and Sakura return I will inform you of the rest of our plan."

Hidan grunted, and Sakura saw Sasori's eyes flicker in annoyance. He wasn't one for patience, after all. He hated to be kept waiting. And she knew that Hidan was merely pissed off because he disliked having to wait for Sakura to do _anything_. Ever since she had gotten into an argument with him over some kind of religious difference they had he had decided that she was the number one annoyance of the Akatsuki. Kakuzu didn't have that much of a problem with her, more of an indifference. He did, however, love to use Sakura as a means of getting under Hidan's skin, which just fueled Hidan's abhorrence for her--and Sakura's mild irritation at Kakuzu.

Hidan, Kakuzu, Tobi, and Itachi disappeared as the jutsu was released. Pein stood and left silently, and Deidara, Kisame, and Sasori followed behind him. Deidara gave her a small smile first, "Don't worry Sakura. Miko-chan will be safe with us, yeah."

Sakura nodded at him before he disappeared out the door as well, leaving Sakura and Konan standing in the room alone.

Slap.

Sakura spat a small amount of blood from her mouth, placing a hand to her stinging cheek. She'd bit her lip when Konan's hand had made sudden contact with her face. Konan's Akatsuki ring had also made a large gash in her cheek from the force of the blow. She merely gave a small grunt, healing the small cut easily as she turned to look at Konan with smoldering emerald eyes.

"Don't you _ever _insult me like that in front of Pein again." Konan hissed, and Sakura saw a bit of humilation and hurt flicker through her usually emotionless gaze.

Sakura sighed, holding back her anger. "That was not my intention, Konan-san." _Try that one more time and I will make sure that you'll never use that hand again. _"Now why don't we stop this immaturity before it turns into something we'll both regret. We are partners for this mission. We both hate each other and we know it, but I assume we can hold back our feelings long enough to complete this mission successfully, ne?"

Konan's jaw tightened and Sakura heard her teeth grinding together as she growled angrily in the back of her throat. But then her muscles relaxed as she gave a soft sigh, which was more like a hiss from between clenched teeth and pursed lips. "Very well…_Uchiha_…" She seemed to find it amusing to address Sakura by her newly obtained last name, as if it were a curse. "We leave in one hour. Be ready."

"I will." Sakura answered back shortly before leaving the room the same way the others had, leaving Konan alone in the darkness.

* * *

Sakura knocked softly on the door to her room. "It's mommy." She whispered, and the door slowly opened a crack as Mikomi peered at her hesitantly with glowing green eyes. Sakura made to walk inside but was stopped as Mikomi hurriedly closed the door.

Sakura sighed. "Mikomi, open the door."

"No."

Sakura's brow furrowed. "Why not?"

"Genjutsu."

Sakura blinked a few times. "Who taught you about genjutsu?"

There was no response, and so Sakura already knew the answer. She frowned a bit as she put her hand on her hip, leaning down to look her daughter in the eye from the little crack in the door. "I am not a genjutsu, Miko-chan. If your father is going to tell you what genjutsu _are_ then he had better teach you how to counter them before he goes around scaring you like that."

But she saw a swish of black hair as Mikomi shook her head vigorously, defending her father like the little daddy's girl she was.

"Just ask the kitty then, if you aren't sure, Miko-chan." Sakura sighed. "Then I'm going to teach you how to release genjutsu, so you won't have to worry about it anymore, ok?"

Mikomi slowly nodded before she shut and locked the door. Sakura heard soft murmurings as Mikomi conversed with the cat, then an amused laugh from the little clay animal and a sharp retort, before the door was unlocked and opened, with a sheepish Mikomi scuffling her shoe on the ground, not looking up, as if ashamed to see the 'I told you so' look on her mother's face.

But Sakura merely knelt down next to her daughter and smiled, putting a hand beneath her chin to force her to look at her. "I have to admit, Miko-chan…that was very smart of you to think that it could have been a genjutsu. Now, what did you father teach you about genjutsu?"

Mikomi walked over to the large bed to the right of the room where Sakura and Itachi usually slept. She climbed up onto it, making herself comfortable as Sakura sat as well after closing the door.

"He says they make you see things that aren't really there." She murmured. "Like…someone who looks like mommy but is really a bad person."

"Ah," Sakura murmured. "Well, that is true."

"But sometimes they make you see scary monsters too. Or sad things."

"Like what kind of sad things?"

Mikomi bit her lip in worry as she looked up at her mother beseechingly. "What does dying mean?"

"Dying?"

Mikomi merely nodded, her gaze curious and thoughtful.

Sakura sighed. How did you explain death to a little girl? Yes, she was only three, but she was different. She was…_a prodigy, _her mind piped in. Yes, a prodigy...but with the emotions of a child.

"When someone dies…they leave everything they have and never come back."

"…that's not what daddy said." Mikomi muttered, looking thoroughly confused.

Sakura stiffened. "And just what did he say then?"

"There's lots of red stuff, like when I cut my fingers or mommy's cat scratches me because I was playing too rough. Except that it doesn't stop because there's no mommy to make it stop coming out. And it hurts, like a scraped knee only _worse_."

"That's not how it always happens." Sakura answered back soothingly, trying to soothe her daughter's apparent fear. She silently cursed Itachi's lack of tact in situations like this. You'd think that he could soften his explanations for their _daughter_ at least. "Sometimes people die in their sleep. They just…go to sleep and don't come back."

"Oh." Mikomi whispered. There was a long moment of silence before Mikomi spoke again. "You aren't going to die, right mommy?"

"E-excuse me?" Sakura stared. "Who said I was going to die?"

"Daddy said they might show pictures of you and daddy dying…and the others too…"

"What else did he say?" Sakura whispered, tears catching in her throat. Her little daughter must have been worrying about this for a while now. But she'd kept it to herself because that was how Mikomi was. She didn't like it when people coddled her too much and she didn't like being thought of as weak.

"…he said I had to be a big girl and not cry."

Sakura sighed as she gathered her daughter into her arms. "Miko-chan, you can cry if you want to. It doesn't mean you aren't a big girl if you cry. I cry sometimes too."

Mikomi gave a small sniffle.

"I just wanted to tell you that I have to leave on a mission soon. I don't know how long I will be gone but your daddy will be back in a day and then you, daddy, and Kisame will be heading back to our normal base for a while, ok?" They'd been summoned to the leader's main base here in Rain for the meeting and would soon be heading back to the one they usually occupied in Grass.

Mikomi nodded, but Sakura could tell she was troubled about the situation.

"Training?" She whispered.

Sakura sighed at her daughter's hopeful expression. "Just a little. And no weapons. Tell them mommy said you could train in taijutsu but that was all for now, ok?"

Mikomi nodded, brightening up a bit. She grinned suddenly, and it was at these times that Sakura realized that Mikomi had inherited a little more from her than just her eye color, no matter Itachi's apparent dominate behavioral traits.

And it was also these times that Sakura remembered that this little girl was still a child, no matter how much everyone else thought otherwise. Yes, she was a prodigy. Yes, Itachi had taught her a simple fire jutsu and she could already use it almost perfectly thanks to inheriting her mother's perfect chakra control. And yes, she had a knack for learning things quickly and had a photographic memory. But she was still a baby. _**My**_ _baby!_ Her mind couldn't comprehend what learning these things was _for_. She didn't know why her mommy and daddy and her uncles made people die even though it sounded like such a bad thing. She didn't understand that you could be hurt badly or killed because you were a ninja.

She just wanted to make them proud.

To make _Itachi_ proud.

"Do you want me to read to you before you go to sleep?"

Mikomi merely nodded. Sakura walked over to her traveling pack and pulled out a large book. It was a children's book, with pictures of little animals on the front, a collection of stories that had been Sakura's favorite when she was a little girl. Sakura came back to the bed where Mikomi had snuggled beneath the covers, clutching a stuffed puppy that she had named Naruto after Deidara had told her that her mommy had had a little doggy with that name before.

Sakura sat down beside her and Mikomi leaned on her, looking expectantly at the front page.

"The Stonecutter," Sakura read the title before she opened to the first page and began reading.

"_'Once upon a time there lived a stonecutter, who went every day to a great rock in the side of a big mountain and cut out slabs for gravestones or for houses. He understood very well the kinds of stones wanted for the different purposes, and as he was a careful workman he had plenty of customers. For a long time he was quite happy and contented, and asked for nothing better than what he had._

_Now in the mountain dwelt a spirit which now and then appeared to men, and helped them in many ways to become rich and prosperous. The stonecutter, however, had never seen this spirit, and only shook his head, with an unbelieving air, when anyone spoke of it. But a time was coming when he learned to change his opinion._

_One day the stonecutter carried a gravestone to the house of a rich man, and saw there all sorts of beautiful things, of which he had never even dreamed. Suddenly his daily work seemed to grow harder and heavier, and he said to himself: "Oh, if only I were a rich man, and could sleep in a bed with silken curtains and golden tassels, how happy I should be!"_

_And a voice answered him: "Your wish is heard; a rich man you shall be!"_

_At the sound of the voice the stonecutter looked around, but could see nobody. He thought it was all his fancy, and picked up his tools and went home, for he did not feel inclined to do any more work that day. But when he reached the little house where he lived, he stood still with amazement, for instead of his wooden hut was a stately palace filled with splendid furniture, and most splendid of all was the bed, in every respect like the one he had envied. He was nearly beside himself with joy, and in his new life the old one was soon forgotten._

_It was now the beginning of summer, and each day the sun blazed more fiercely. One morning the heat was so great that the stonecutter could scarcely breathe, and he determined he would stop at home till the evening. He was rather dull, for he had never learned how to amuse himself, and was peeping through the closed blinds to see what was going on in the street, when a little carriage passed by, drawn by servants dressed in blue and silver. In the carriage sat a prince, and over his head a golden umbrella was held, to protect him from the sun's rays._

_"Oh, if I were only a prince!" said the stonecutter to himself, as the carriage vanished around the corner. "Oh, if I were only a prince, and could go in such a carriage and have a golden umbrella held over me, how happy I should be!"_

_And a prince he was. Before his carriage rode one company of men and another behind it; servants dressed in scarlet and gold bore him along, the coveted umbrella was held over his head, everything his heart could desire was his. But yet it was not enough. He looked around still for something to wish for, and when he saw that in spite of the water he poured on the grass the rays of the sun scorched it, and that in spite of the umbrella held over his head each day his face grew browner and browner, he cried in his anger: "The sun is mightier than I; oh, if I were only the sun!"_

_And the mountain spirit answered: "Your wish is heard; the sun you shall be."_

_And the sun he was, and felt himself proud in his power. He shot his beams above and below, on earth and in heaven; he burnt up the grass in the fields and scorched the faces of princes as well as of poorer folk. but in a short time he began to grow tired of his might, for there seemed nothing left for him to do. Discontent once more filled his soul, and when a cloud covered his face, and hid the earth from him, he cried in his anger: "Does the cloud hold captive my rays, and is it mightier than I? Oh, that I were a cloud, and mightier than any!"_

_And the mountain spirit answered: "Your wish is heard; a cloud you shall be!"_

_And a cloud he was, and lay between the sun and the earth. He caught the sun's beams and held them, and to his joy the earth grew green again and flowers blossomed. But that was not enough for him, and for days and week he poured forth rain till the rivers overflowed their banks, and the crops of rice stood in water. Towns and villages were destroyed by the power of the rain, only the great rock on the mountainside remained unmoved. The cloud was amazed at the sight, and cried in wonder: "Is the rock, then, mightier than I? Oh, if I were only the rock!"_

_And the mountain spirit answered; "Your wish is heard; the rock you shall be!"_

_And the rock he was, and gloried in his power. Proudly he stood, and neither the heat of the sun nor the force of the rain could move him. "This is better than all!" he said to himself. But one day he heard a strange noise at his feet, and when he looked down to see what it could be, he saw a stonecutter driving tools into his surface. Even while he looked a trembling feeling ran all through him, and a great block broke off and fell upon the ground. Then he cried in his wrath: "Is a mere child of earth mightier than a rock? Oh, if I were only a man!"_

_And the mountain spirit answered: "Your wish is heard. A man once more you shall be!"_

_And a man he was, and in the sweat of his brow he toiled again at his trade of stone cutting. His bed was hard and his food scanty, but he had learned to be satisfied with it, and did not long to be something or somebody else. And as he never asked for things he did not have, or desired to be greater and mightier than other people, he was happy at last, and never again heard the voice of the mountain spirit.'"_

Sakura looked to see that Mikomi was snuggling against her stuffed puppy sleepily. A good bedtime story always made her fall asleep.

"Alright then. I think that's enough story time for tonight." Sakura smiled down at her. _I had better hurry and get going or Konan is going to be angry with me. And if she says one thing to set me off...I may not be able to hold back this time. We'll end up killing each other before this mission is over._

"Why would he want to be a man again?" Mikomi whispered confusedly as Sakura closed the book. "_I'd _rather be a princess."

Sakura laughed softly, kissing her daughter's forehead. She could see her eyes beginning to close as she yawned.

"Sometimes, Miko-chan, it is better to be something small and simple rather than something big and powerful. Because wealth and power don't always make people happy. Love is what will make you happy."_ That sounded extremely corny, _she thought with an inward giggle.

Mikomi pursed her lips a bit in thought. "So even when things are bad I shouldn't be sad because I have love?"

"Hai."

Mikomi gave another small yawn, her eyes closing.

"…I still think I'd rather be a princess."

* * *

Sakura walked to the entrance of the base, shouldering her traveling pack. Her Akatsuki cloak was hot, making her sweat. But it was needed, because the outside temperature was much cooler than the warm hallways of the Akatsuki base.

Konan was leaning against the doorway, giving Sakura a piercing glare before grunting and putting on her kasa. Sakura followed suit and the two walked outside. The rain engulfed them the moment they walked outside, and both of them gave an unconscious shiver.

The rain in this place always seemed so cold and sinister. Konan recovered quickly as she began walking, but Sakura couldn't shake off the Rain's chilling cling. She shook her cloak, burying her arms further inside its folds.

"It rains a lot here." Sakura whispered. "I mean, despite the name." She continued trying to make conversation with Konan as they walked. After all, there was no way she would survive the long road ahead of them in uncomfortable silence. It seemed like forever before Konan answered.

"Indeed."

"It's colder than regular rain. Like…like liquid ice." Sakura murmured.

"That _is_ what water is."

Sakura snorted. "You know what I meant." She pulled her hat down further. The bell chimed a bit at the movement, and rain continued to drip from the edges.

"…it's sad too." She whispered.

Konan stopped walking, turning her face up to look at the sky. The rain pelted her skin, and Sakura saw her close her eyes and smile softly, as if remembering a fond memory. But her smile soon faded and she opened her eyes slowly. They were filled with pain and anguish before becoming emotionless once more.

"…the sky merely cries because he no longer can." And then she walked on, disappearing into the darkened forest ahead of them.

* * *

**(A/N: Did you like it? The story that Sakura read to Mikomi is a Japanese folktale called The Stonecutter. I hope you guys can find the hidden meanings in it. They are supposed to be deep and make you think, not just children's tales. I may be adding a few more as the story goes on. Mikomi's bedtime stories are going to be a good insight into the ACTUAL story, I think. :D **

**Anyway…I'm sure most of you know who Konan was talking about in the last line. Hehehehe. I really want people to see that Konan isn't really that bad…I mean yeah, she's a bitch sometimes, but she's had a rough life. Hopefully you will all feel a little more sorry for her as the story goes on.**

**Well, Itachi will be in the next chapter, and Sakura will once again meet with the Raikage. That should be an interesting reunion, ne? We won't see the Konoha gang for a few more chapters yet. **

**I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time, see ya!**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	3. Chapter 2: The Two Frogs

**(A\N: Sorry this chapter took so long to get out. Enjoy.)**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**The Two Frogs**

Mikomi gave a soft sigh, her crayons running smoothly across the piece of paper. Three other pictures--all finished--and other pieces of blank paper were scattered around her. Two crayons were broken: pink and green. She bit her lip at the predicament. She'd used the crayons too much and had been pressing down too hard…now they were snapped in half and lying next to her in pieces.

It annoyed her, because pink was her favorite color and so the pink crayon was, in retrospect, her favorite crayon. And it was the color of her mommy's _hair_ too. She lifted up her latest masterpiece with a triumphant grin. Today couldn't get any better! Deidara, Kisame, and Sasori had all been allowed to teach her some taijutsu and now her daddy was coming home! She lowered the piece of paper with a small frown.

It would be perfect if mommy was there too…Mikomi couldn't remember the last time she had spent time with both of her parents. She knew it was because of missions, and that those missions had to be done. Her little mind just couldn't wrap around _why_ they had to be done. Couldn't they just say no? Or was Leader-sama like their mommy and daddy and they had to listen to him and not talk back?

She shivered a bit. She didn't like Leader-sama. She had only seen him once, and that was enough for her. His eyes were what bothered her. She could sense the chakra in him and it was _strong_.

"Miko-chaaaaaaan!"

Mikomi blinked, before stiffening a bit. She recognized the voice instantly and she started to tremble slightly. She gripped her black crayon tighter as she heard footsteps getting closer and closer to her room.

The cat sitting on the bed watched her curiously, green eyes taking in her shaking shoulders and slightly dilated pupils.

"Ne, Miko-chan!"

The person was knocking on the door. Mikomi swallowed, thankful that the door was locked. Mommy and daddy always told her to lock the door, especially before she went to bed. The cat's tail twitched, and she swore that it was smiling mischievously.

"What is wrong with Miko-chan? Is Miko-chan sick?"

Mikomi said nothing.

_Never give away your position, Mikomi. _Her father's voice echoed in her mind. _Remain silent. If your enemy is too powerful, then you must hide, but never run unless you are sure you can escape. Running takes unnecessary energy and you will be tired if your enemy catches you._

Mikomi shut her eyes, breathing in deeply as she put hands to her ears and willed herself to dissapear. She had to be _quiet_. She began going through the steps her mother had taught her. She regulated her heartbeat, making it softer and less noticeable. Her breathing came out in almost nonexistent pants. Her chakra stream slowed, making it become harder to locate.

"Eh? Where has Miko-chan gone?" Came the wondering, boyish voice from outside the door.

_Remember to always keep your chakra low when hiding, _her mother always said. _Don't use any jutsu because someone could find you and then the game of hide and seek would be over, ne?_ her mother always explained it like that…like it was a game that she _could not lose_ or else something bad would happen.

_If you are in a lot of trouble, use the scroll I gave you._ Mikomi's hand inched towards the dresser. But to get to it she shifted on the floor, and her leg brushed against a piece of paper, crumpling it.

"Eh? Is Miko-chan hiding? Is Miko-chan playing hide-and-seek?"

_I have to win, I have to win!_ She screamed silently as she grabbed the scroll, unraveling it. The kanji written on it said one word, and she smiled as she traced over it. Mommy had said that it took a lot of chakra to use, but not too much that it would make Mikomi sleepy like the fire-jutsu her daddy had taught her had done.

She bit her thumb and was about to place it on the kanji when another voice broke through the air.

"Where are you Mikomi, yeah?"

Mikomi's hand dropped and she smiled softly to herself, tucking the scroll back into the dresser. She ignored the small drop of blood on her thumb as she smoothed her skirt and began walking to the door.

She was safe again, it was ok. She didn't have to play hide-and-seek anymore now that he was there. It was ok to lose if _he_ found her. Or at least that's what she told herself, because she knew that her mommy and daddy wouldn't understand why she didn't want to play hide-and-seek with some people.

The cat watched her from the bedside, its green eyes sparkling darkly as Mikomi unlocked the door and opened it to reveal Tobi and Deidara.

* * *

Sakura swallowed nervously as they entered the Raikage's palace. It rained most of the way to Cloud. However, the further from their Akatsuki base they went, the softer the downpour was. Sakura knew it was because of Leader-sama's powers, but she felt uneasy with the length that these powers went. They were well into Waterfall before they saw their first clear morning.

It irked her because his arrogance seemed to be growing. Or perhaps it was merely confidence? Leader-sama was the type to understand his limits but still show his own power in order to build obedience and fear into those who met him. He would act all-powerful and god-like because…Sakura swallowed.

…because he was. There was nothing more to be said.

The journey had been long and tense, filled with awkward silences from the two kunoichi. Of course, silence allowed Sakura to think, and she had a lot on her mind since her last meeting with Leader-sama and her confrontation with Sasori over Mikomi's training.

She _knew_ her daughter would be a shinobi one day, it was inevitable. But…a part of her had wanted to shield her from that life. To have Mikomi grow up as a civilian and have a normal family and never worry about missions or village loyalties or bloodlines…

But it was only wishful thinking.

Mikomi was an Uchiha.

It was something she would never be able to escape from. Her last name sealed her fate, and it made Sakura sad to think about it. She _knew_ Itachi was merely teaching Mikomi these things early because…well, because he was afraid of what would happen to their daughter if she was unprepared.

And so Sakura had berated herself during the length of the journey and Konan had complained the entire way on how Sakura wasn't paying attention. All in all, it had been a rather tense journey and Sakura couldn't have been more happy to enter Cloud's gates…until she remembered that of all people, she was probably the least welcomed here.

Konan was emotionless beside her, but even _she_ couldn't help turning her gaze to the many Cloud-nin that lined the hallway, all glaring at Sakura as if she were meant to burst into flame.

Konan turned to see a small flicker of guilt run through Sakura's eyes as they followed their guide to the throne room, and she snorted.

"It was a mission." _You merely did what you had to do._

Sakura looked up at Konan and saw a bit of thoughtfulness in her gaze, and nodded. Merely because it was a mission didn't mean she didn't feel guilty about it. But Konan's blunt words gave her a small comfort.

Then the door to the Raikage's throne room groaned open, and the two were besieged with light. They blinked, eyes adjusting to the change, and found themselves staring at a magnificently decorated room.

Ten cloud-nin stood at either side of the door, gazes cold and hard. At the center of a room was a gigantic map, where several shinobi were talking amongst themselves. They became silent as Konan and Sakura entered, and one of them looked up with a small, coldly hospitable smile.

"Welcome."

"Thank you for allowing us entrance, Raikage-sama." Konan murmured, before she and Sakura continued forward.

The shinobi at the door tensed, a few unseathing their weapons at the action.

Konan looked from the guards to the Raikage. Sakura merely snorted, noticing the looks of disgust from the majority of the guards. In fact, the only person in the room besides Konan who wasn't glaring at her was the Raikage, who was smiling rather darkly.

She knew why, as well, and it sickened her.

_He hadn't cared for his two eldest children at all, the bastard._

"You have something for me, I presume?" The Raikage finally spoke, waving off his guards. The men standing at the map did not move as the two Akatsuki came closer to them. Konan placed a hand into her sleeve and she saw them all stiffen. She smiled a bit before she pulled out the scroll Pein had given her.

There was a snort from the man to the Raikage's right, and Sakura instantly recognized him from the battle between Masako and Tomokazu and the Stone shinobi.

"Isamu-san…what is it?' The Raikage asked, clearly unamused with his servant's outburst.

"It is nothing, Raikage-sama…merely…" he grinned, showing off those pointed teeth that made Sakura wonder if he was even human. "It is merely amusing that the murderer of your children is seen in such high esteem by yourself and--"

"You!"

Sakura froze at the soft female voice, before slowly turning to look at the person standing in the doorway.

Blonde hair.

Silver eyes.

The last child of the Raikage.

_Emiko_.

Sakura stiffened, feeling guilt wash through her as the child ran up to her. She saw Konan go for something in her cloak but she merely shook her head. Sakura really couldn't blame this girl for whatever she wanted to do to her. It would be best to let her get her anger out.

If Sakura was the little girl, she would hate her too.

But the funny thing about it was that the little girl didn't scream or cry. She didn't hit Sakura, or try and stab her with one of the kunai in her small weapon's pouch.

Slender arms surrounded Sakura's stomach and she merely stared down at the little girl hugging her in shock.

"E-Emiko…" Sakura began, whispering the little girl's name.

Then the girl looked up with a small smile, tears in her eyes.

"Thank you Sakura-san…thank you."

And Sakura suddenly realized that the little girl knew everything.

* * *

"Karura! Honey where are you?"

Karura sighed, annoyed with the interruption to her perfectly good morning. She was lying on her back on the roof of her house staring up at the sky. The puffy white clouds drifted across the blue background, making pictures.

After a while her mother stopped yelling her name, and Karura closed her eyes. Her mother must have been busy with something else--or rather someone else. Karura's little brother was four months old and occupied most of their mother's time.

_And he cries all the time too. _

"Shikamaru! Where are you?'

The figure beside her gave a small groan at Temari's scream. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked over at Karura. "Come on, let's get inside before your mother has a heart attack."

Karura sighed. "But the clouds were so _pretty_ today."

"Yeah."

There was a moment of silence before the father and daughter duo gave another collective sigh.

"How troublesome."

* * *

Temari dashed around the kitchen, throwing up pots and pans as the smell of burning food wafted around the house. From his small satchel on her back her little son Yashamaru giggled as he pulled on his mother's hair.

At the doorway, two people watched Temari's frantic movements with raised eyebrows and worried glances.

"Hey Temari, calm down." Ino began. "I'm sure that everything is fine…" Ino was a constant in the Nara household, since she was Shikamaru's old teammate and one of Temari's best friends.

"That idiot!" Temari yelled, brandishing a spoon like a kunai. "I bet he ran off with Karura to go do something _pointless_. He's always taking her to go cloud watching or play shogi or--"

"Whoa." Ino held up her hands in defeat. "Take a deep breath and _relax_ Temari."

"Would you like me to make us some tea, Temari-san?" Atsuko asked from beside Ino. He smiled at her, and Temari couldn't help but smile back.

The kid was already a Chunin, and like his feminine name, his face was smooth, flawless, and beautiful. He was the heartthrob of most of the female population and, and it wasn't just because of his looks. Since he had grown up under Ino's care he was more intuned to a female's feelings then most men--and hell, he _knew _his flowers.

To the female half of Konohagakure, he was the perfect catch.

Unfortunately for Atsuko, he seemed to be completely oblivious when it came to women's advances on him. He merely thought they were all being kind and, being the thoughtful boy he was, he always extended his friendship to the blushing girls.

And so Atsuko had taken to hiding out with Ino as much as he could to escape the fan girls, mostly because he couldn't understand why they _followed him everywhere._

"Sure." Temari sighed, slumping down into a chair at the table. "That would be nice, Atsuko."

The young Chunin nodded with a smile as he hurriedly cleaned up the mess Temari had made in the kitchen, took the burning food off the burner, and began boiling a pot of water.

It was at that moment that Shikamaru walked into the room, followed by Karura.

"There you are!" Temari yelled, making both of them flinch. Ino grinned, while Atsuko merely hummed to himself while he worked cleaning the rest of the kitchen.

Little Yashamaru cooed as he lifted his hands, trying to reach across the great distance between himself and Atsuko to play with the older boy's long brown hair.

Temari stood, putting her hands on her hips in a pose that Shikamaru was all too familiar with. "Listen here buddy! My brothers are coming with a large group of Daimyos to the spring festival and YOU are supposed to be helping Naruto! But you aren't _helping_ Naruto! And how do I know this? Because Ino comes over to ask where you are and I get to tell her that YOU were SHIRKING your responsiblities as a KONOHA SHINOBI!"

Shikamaru sighed. "Calm down."

Temari gave a mortified gasp and looked like she was about to strangle him when Karura spoke.

"My uncles are coming?"

Temari blinked, before beaming at her little daughter. "Yes honey."

"Oh." Karura sighed, before she tugged at a lock of her straight, honey colored hair. "Mommy…"

"Yes?'

"Do you think you could curl my hair for me?" Karura asked, peering up at her nervously.

Temari and Ino looked down at the little girl for a few moments before large smiles spread across their faces. Both of them had been so eager to get a chance to dress Karura up and make her look like a cute little doll. It was every mother's dream to have a little girl to wear pretty dresses and give cute hairstyles to.

The two squealed, as Ino lunged and grabbed Karura, holding her to her as she danced around the room. "We finally get to make her look like a girl, Temari!"

"Why would you want to curl your hair?" Shikamaru drawled, taking a sip of his tea that Atsuko had gotten for him.

Karura gave him a wary look from where she stood in front of Ino. "I…" She looked down. "…every time my uncles or other people from Suna come they look at me funny and then look like they're going to cry when they see me. Uncle Kankuro says it's because I look like my grandmother."

Temari gazed at her daughter sadly, pursing her lips. It was true, Karura was the spitting image of her namesake.

"I thought that if my hair was curled I wouldn't look like her anymore and they wouldn't cry. It's _troublesome._"

Temari merely smiled down at her daughter. "We'll see what we can do, honey. I'm sure you'll look very pretty with your hair curled." Ino nodded vigorously.

Shikamaru merely sighed, standing up. "Well, come on Ino. I'd better get to the Hokage's Tower. Naruto is probably having a fit."

"You coming Atsuko?" Ino asked.

The brunette merely shook his head. "I have a mission in a few hours so I thought I'd spend some time with Temari-san first. I can help get her house ready for when Kazekage-dono and the others arrive."

Ino and Temari both sighed dreamily while Shikamaru gave a groan.

_Geeze Atsuko…you make me look bad._

* * *

"You're back." Kisame grunted as the door to the base opened and Itachi walked inside, shaking off the rain and dropping his Akatsuki cloak on the floor beside the small heater.

"Hn."

Sasori looked up from where he was fixing one of his puppets. "Deidara put Mikomi to bed a few hours ago. She was tired out from all her training."

Itachi nodded, but Kisame and Sasori both saw the question in his eyes.

"Don't worry, it was nothing dangerous, just some taijutsu." Kisame grunted. "Sakura already threatened to castrate me if I showed her Samehada again."

Itachi nodded.

"She seemed very disgruntled that you were allowing Mikomi to be taught at all." Sasori continued where Kisame had left off. "Perhaps you should remind her what our purpose as Akatsuki is."

"Don't try and tell me how I should treat my wife, Sasori." Itachi said coldly, eyes glinting.

Sasori merely nodded and Kisame opened his mouth to say something to ease the tension when a large crash resounded throughout the base. There was a second of silence as they all waited for Deidara or Tobi to come stumbling down the hallway to apologize for dropping something, but when no other sound came, all three were quickly heading down the hallway.

They stopped in front of the kitchen, where soft shuffling noises could be heard inside. Itachi's eyes narrowed a bit as he slid the door open and the shadow standing on the counter whirled around with a squeak.

Sasori turned on the lights and then gave a soft sigh at the scene in front of them.

Mikomi was standing on the counter, having used a chair to climb up it. She held a bag in her arm, holding it tightly to her chest.

"Mikomi."

She flinched at the reprimanding tone in her father's voice.

"Ne…daddy…" She held the bag closer to her, but a bright smile adorned her face. "You're back!"

"What are you doing?'

At this she wilted a bit, looking suspicious. "Nothing…"

"Give me the bag."

"Demo…"

"Now."

Kisame snickered, while Sasori merely watched the scene play out in front of them.

"That is your mother's bag."

"But…but…but…" Mikomi began, sniffling slightly. She turned her gaze to Kisame. "I just wanted to be closer to mommy! I _miss_ her."

God, she was already learning how to manipulate them.

Kisame rubbed the back of his neck before turning to Itachi. "Come on man…I mean, just a little won't hurt her, will it?"

"You heard what your mother said about late night snacks." Itachi told Mikomi tonelessly. "You are not allowed to have sugar after seven."

"_Daddy_!" She wailed exasperatedly. "Mommy isn't here! We can do what _daddy_ thinks is best this time, ne? Mommy is a doctor so she's _mean_ about candy and sweets!"

"She is not mean."

"Yes she is!"

"Put the bag back, Mikomi. You are supposed to be sleeping." His voice was stern, leaving no room for argument. Mikomi looked like she was going to argue, but merely sniffled, sliding the bag back into its place in the cupboard.

She then slid off of the counter and onto the floor, grabbing Itachi's hand with a sigh. "Ok…" Then she smiled, "You can read me a story, right daddy?"

"Hn."

"Yay!" Mikomi giggled as she pulled him out of the room, seemingly able to read his small 'hn's just like Sakura.

Kisame watched them go with a grin before reaching into the cupboard and grabbing Sakura's bag.

"Want one?" He asked Sasori, but the puppet-master merely raised an eyebrow at him incredulously.

"Suit yourself." Kisame shrugged, taking out a bar of chocolate and smirking.

…

…

…

"Kitten really needs a better hiding place for her comfort foods."

* * *

Mikomi was still pouting a little as she cuddle in her bed, holding her stuffed puppy as she waited for Itachi to begin. He opened the large book in his lap and sighed at the title of the story that was designated by a little bookmark.

"Once upon a time--"

"_Daddy_…" Mikomi whined.

"What?"

"You aren't reading it right!" Mikomi sighed with exasperation.

Itachi merely raised an eyebrow. This, of course, translated as, "how would you know? You haven't read this story yet."

Mikomi merely gave him a serious look. "I can read, you know, and that's not the first line." She pointed to the opening sentence of the story. "And none of these stories start out with 'once upon a time'."

"Hn." Itachi had thought all little children's stories started out that way. When he had come home from Anbu missions he would often hear his mother reading a bedtime story to Sasuke. They all began like that.

Was it a crime that Itachi really didn't want to read the stupid story and had hoped he could make up a short and simple one to appease her?

"_And_ you aren't doing different voices!"

"Hn?"

Mikomi frowned. "Mommy makes different voices for the different characters. They can't all talk the _same_."

Itachi's eye twitched slightly. He _did not_ do voices. Hell, he didn't read bedtime stories either. That was Sakura's job. Usually when Sakura wasn't there and it was his turn to get her to sleep he would allow her to eat all she wanted to at supper so she would be drowsy and content and would fall asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

"Read me the story…please?" She finally asked, biting her lip. "I…I miss mommy…"

He closed his eyes.

"Don't cry. I told you that big girls don't cry."

"I wasn't going to cry!" She defended hotly, even as she hiccupped. He placed a hand on her head, ruffling her hair a bit.

"Go to sleep."

She hiccupped again, giving him a hurt, angry glance before she buried herself in her blanket, not wanting to look at him. Daddy could be so mean sometimes! He never wanted to read to her…

There was silence as Mikomi tried to keep from crying, because she really didn't want to disappoint her father no matter how mad she was at him for not reading to her.

She heard a clock tick, and counted the number of ticks until her daddy would stand up and leave the room.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

After 127 ticks she was beginning to get bored with counting. She closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep despite how _unloved_ she felt at the moment when a voice broke through the silence.

"The Two Frogs."

Mikomi couldn't help but smile as she jerked the blanket from over her head and listened to her father attentively, as he watched her antics with calm amusement.

"Once upon a time in the country of Japan there lived two frogs, one of whom made his home in a ditch near the town of Osaka, on the sea coast, while the other dwelt in a clear little stream which ran through the city of Kyoto. At such a great distance apart, they had never even heard of each other; but, funnily enough, the idea came into both their heads at once that they should like to see a little of the world, and the frog who lived at Kyoto wanted to visit Osaka, and the frog who lived at Osaka wished to go to Kyoto, where the great Mikado had his palace.

So one fine morning in the spring they both set out along the road that led from Kyoto to Osaka, one from one end and the other from the other. The journey was more tiring than they expected, for they did not know much about traveling, and halfway between the two towns there arose a mountain which had to be climbed. It took them a long time and a great many hops to reach the top, but there they were at last, and what was the surprise of each to see another frog before him!

They looked at each other for a moment without speaking, and then fell into conversation, explaining the cause of their meeting so far from their homes. It was delightful to find that they both felt the same wish--to learn a little more of their native country--and as there was no sort of hurry they stretched themselves out in a cool, damp place, and agreed that they would have a good rest before they parted to go their ways.

"What a pity we are not bigger," said the Osaka frog; "for then we could see both towns from here, and tell if it is worth our while going on."

"Oh, that is easily managed," returned the Kyoto frog. "We have only got to stand up on our hind legs, and hold onto each other, and then we can each look at the town he is traveling to."

This idea pleased the Osaka frog so much that he at once jumped up and put his front paws on the shoulder of his friend, who had risen also. There they both stood, stretching themselves as high as they could, and holding each other tightly, so that they might not fall down. The Kyoto frog turned his nose towards Osaka, and the Osaka frog turned his nose towards Kyoto; but the foolish things forgot that when they stood up their great eyes lay in the backs of their heads, and that though their noses might point to the places to which they wanted to go, their eyes beheld the places from which they had come.

"Dear me!" cried the Osaka frog, "Kyoto is exactly like Osaka. It is certainly not worth such a long journey. I shall go home!"

"If I had had any idea that Osaka was only a copy of Kyoto I should never have traveled all this way," exclaimed the frog from Kyoto, and as he spoke he took his hands from his friend's shoulders, and they both fell down on the grass. Then they took a polite farewell of each other, and set off for home again, and to the end of their lives they believed that Osaka and Kyoto, which are as different to look at as two towns can be, were as alike as two peas."

There was a moment of silence as Mikomi bit her lip, looking troubled.

"What is it?'

Mikomi looked up at her father with a smile. "It's nothing, daddy. It's just, some people really don't know that some things aren't what they think they are, do they?"

"Hm?"

Mikomi's smile faded a bit. "Sometimes…things aren't what they look like." And then she snuggled down in her blanket and closed her eyes, holding her stuffed puppy close.

"…but it doesn't matter, because I have mommy and daddy and my uncles to make sure I'm safe…"

Itachi's brow furrowed a bit in confusion at his daughter's words. And so he watched over her in silence, trying to decipher just what it was his little girl was talking about.

* * *

**(A\N: So? Hehehehehe…the plot thickens even more…and what, may you ask, is Emiko thanking Sakura? Answers will come in due time…:D I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	4. Chapter 3: Enemy?

**(A\N: I'm sorry if this took a little longer than expected...but hey, it's SPRING BREAK! That means lots of time to update. I'm hoping to get all my longterm homework done over the first few days so I'll be free the rest of vacation to write. :) Anyway, enjoy!)**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**Enemy?**

"Otousan, Sakura-san is going to play with me for awhile, ok?" Emiko held Sakura's hand, tugging it slightly. The still dazed woman merely stared down at her, unblinking.

"She is needed for a very important meeting, Emiko-chan." The Raikage said firmly, and Sakura saw his eyes flicker dangerously as his gaze rested on Sakura before warming at the sight of his young daughter. 

"But you will only need to tell the information to _one_ Akatsuki member. I am sure that Sakura-san's partner can tell her what she missed." Emiko defended, smiling at Konan. Konan and Sakura shared a look, before Konan merely nodded at her and turned to the Raikage.

"Do not worry, Raikage-sama. I can fill my teammate in on what she will miss."

The Raikage nodded absently with a small, angered curl of his lips before he waved his hand at Emiko. "Go. Do not forget your ninjutsu training this afternoon."

The little girl smiled as she dragged Sakura towards the door. As soon as they were outside the throne room and engulfed in silence, Emiko let out a long sigh, happily sitting down on one of the cushioned benches that lined the hallway. Sakura took this moment to study the young girl. 

She was around Atsuko's age, and she wore a white and blue kimono-styled outfit, with her Cloud headband around her neck. She looked much more mature since the last time Sakura had seen her. She was a shinobi now, just like her father had wanted.

Sakura leaned against the wall opposite the young girl and broached the subject that had been racing through her mind since Emiko's appearance. "How did you know?'

"My sensei." Was Emiko's only answer as she looked down the hallway. "He's coming soon. I want you to meet him, Sakura-san."

Sakura nodded. "Very well."

"You have a daughter now, don't you Sakura-san?"

Sakura was surprised at the question, but merely nodded once more. "Yes, I do. But how did you…?"

"I've been doing a lot of research on you, Sakura-san." Emiko laughed. "As the daughter of the Raikage and the heir to the Raikage title, it is my right and duty to view all of the secret files we have, even those on s-classed missing-nins."

"Ah."

"And of all of the s-classed criminals in my father's bingo book I have to say you're the most interesting…eh _Uchiha_ Sakura?"

Sakura didn't answer, because she didn't like the knowing grin on Emiko's face that reminded her of one of her clay cats at its smuggest. 

They heard the shuffling of footsteps and both turned to see an orange-robed monk walk slowly down the hallway. He was old, covered in wrinkles with a pointed white beard and twinkling, mischievous eyes. Behind him were two other monks, both much younger. What was strange, however, was that all three sported Cloud-nin headbands tied around their arms.

"Sensei!" Emiko rushed out of her chair to bow to the wizened one. She turned with a smile, "This is Sakura-san—but you already knew her before, didn't you?" She grinned at Sakura knowingly, who continued to stare at the monk.

"N-Naoto-ojiisan?" Sakura finally managed to stutter out, staring at the man in disbelief. _He_ was Emiko's sensei? No wonder she knew—and was thanking Sakura. Sakura felt the tension leave her shoulders for the first time since she'd entered Cloud territory. She was finally in friendly company.

"Ah, Sakura…" Naoto's voice was scratched and dry, like it had always been. He smiled and nodded his head in greeting to her. "It has been a while."

"How is...everything?" Sakura asked quickly. 

Naoto chuckled. "It is amazing how quickly Emiko came to 'spiritual enlightenment' after the incident." His limbs began shaking and Sakura hurriedly walked over to him, holding out her arm. "Please, ojiisan," Sakura placed his hand on her arm so that he could lean on her. "Where are we headed?"

"To the gardens!" Emiko laughed, skipping ahead of them. The two monks trailed slowly behind Sakura and Naoto, keeping a good distance. Even Emiko stayed far ahead, as if all of them knew that Naoto and Sakura needed their privacy.

"The weather is nice here this time of year." Sakura finally murmured, looking out the window as they began heading towards the courtyard. 

"Indeed. The storms won't set in for another month or so. After that, Cloud will be closed off to the outside for three months at the very least due to all the rain and flooding."

Sakura stopped, and Naoto turned to her patiently. She gave him a worried glance. "But ojiisan…Cloud's rainy season doesn't start for another six months." At this point in time they had passed a couple of Cloud-nin guards who were watching them strangely.

Naoto laughed, rubbing the back of his head with a gnarled hand. "Is that so? My, my, I must be getting old."

Sakura smiled down at him as they resumed their walking, but on the inside her mind began analyzing his words. Two months? Two months until rain? Two months until the storm broke? Or did he mean something else entirely?

A storm was on the way that was for sure, whether symbolically or literally.

"Well then, I suppose I will have to get back to my daughter then. She is deathly afraid of thunder, you know." Sakura smiled, tilting her head to the side a bit as she waited for his reaction. 

"Yes." Naoto's voice was calm, but with a tinge of sadness to it. "And there is a reason for her fear, Sakura-san. I am afraid, however, that shielding her from those fears will be near impossible. Even the love of a mother cannot save a child from this storm."

Sakura stiffened, eyes narrowed a bit as 'mother bear' took over. "I will protect my daughter against anything or everything, even a storm ojiisan."

"You cannot fight nature."

"Yes I can."

Naoto looked up at her tone, seeing her standing in defiance to his words. Her eyes were lit with determination and he smiled at that, patting her arm as he would pat the head of a child. "Yes, well, there is a first time for everything." It was meant to be comforting, but came out as distant and a bit aloof.

Sakura merely nodded, eyes hidden beneath her bangs. 

Nothing would touch her daughter, storm or otherwise.

* * *

"You're late."

Shikamaru sighed as he opened the door to the Hokage's office. Those were not the first words he had been hoping to hear, especially not from the usually cheerful Uzumaki Naruto.

"Er well…" Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh as he walked inside the room. "I was…"

"He was cloud watching again, Naruto." Ino answered cheerfully as she waltzed into the room, her arms full of paperwork. She had given up her position in Anbu and taken over Iruka's old job at the academy and seemed to like her new position. Shikamaru didn't see why. Mounds of paperwork wasn't something he _ever_ looked forward to. She'd also taken over Sakura's position in the hospital under Shizune. Tsunade didn't do much anymore other than being one of Naruto's advisors and sometimes helping on the more difficult medical cases.

Naruto grinned. "Thought so." He leaned his chin on his hand, looking over at Shikamaru through half-lidded eyes. It still startled Shikamaru, when he looked at Naruto. He seemed to be a living clone of the Fourth, from what he'd seen of him in pictures. He'd matured greatly over the past few years after Sakura had left.

"How's the family?" Naruto finally asked, and Shikamaru could tell that he was trying his hardest to keep them off track from what he had really called him here for.

"Good." Shikamaru answered slowly, sitting down in the seat in front of Naruto's desk. Ino placed the papers on a table beside a filing cabinet before leaving saying that she had to head out to the Academy, since the students were getting put into squads the next day.

Silence reigned after she left, in which Naruto shifted uncomfortably and Shikamaru watched him with growing anxiety.

"What is it, Naruto?"

The Rokudaime merely sighed, "You see…" He sighed. "I need you to lead a special mission."

"…what kind of mission?"

Naruto remained silent for a few moments, before he mumbled something. 

"What was that?'

"Red." And he pushed a file towards Shikamaru, the tab on it a bright, glaring crimson.

Shikamaru stilled for a moment, not bothering to open the file—which was relatively thin and seemed to be, for all intents and purposes, empty. Red tab missions were usually gruesome…and they were usually suicide missions. "…you mean the type where we get medals of honor for our courage…and the medals are sent back to our families in nicely wrapped boxes, ne?"

Naruto nodded, looking crestfallen.

"How many are going?"

"A team of five including you as the leader."

"I've dealt with one or two of these before and have survived Naruto…" Shikamaru sighed, wondering at Naruto's lost gaze. _That's why you're sending me as the leader, I'm guessing._ "What is the real reason you're so worried?"

"Hinata."

Shikamaru's brow furrowed. "What about her?" From Ino and Temari's latest gossip Hinata seemed to be doing fine. She and Naruto had been happily married two years ago and were still undecided on whether or not to have children yet. Even though Neji was now the head of the Hyuga Clan, Hinata was still a respected member of the Hyuga council and was Neji's appointed ambassador for the Hyuga Clan to the other villages. She had very little time for anything in between clan meetings and going out to other villages to speak with the Clans there. Were she and Naruto having conflicting thoughts on having kids or something?

"She's needed on this mission."

Shikamaru stilled, seeing the pleading look in Naruto's gaze, as if Naruto was begging Shikamaru to tell him that Hinata couldn't go on the mission, that she wasn't qualified for it.

"The mission calls for a Hyuga. Neji can't do it, he's too wrapped up in politics at the moment. He tried to get free so he could go but…" Naruto's shoulders slumped. "And I need a strong Hyuga for this mission, Shikamaru. If Hinata knew that I passed her over for this job just because I was worried for her—" His voice cracked a bit. "She'd never forgive me." _You have to do it for me! Tell me that she isn't qualified so I can send someone else!_

Shikamaru nodded, uncomfortable as he tried to ignore Naruto's gaze. _I'm sorry Naruto. If I need a strong Hyuga on this mission then there is no one better for the job and you know it. _"Who are the other members of my team?"

"Mitarashi Anko, Hatake Kakashi, and…Atsuko."

Shikamaru looked up at Naruto, startled. "You can't be serious! He's only a Chunin!"

"We both know that Atsuko is extremely skilled and his level is far beyond Chunin." Naruto answered back. "I didn't want to say anything to Ino because Atsuko told me not to. He doesn't want her to worry."

Shikamaru nodded. So this was the mission that Atsuko had been talking about to Temari. No wonder he hadn't wanted to go to the Hokage's office…he had wanted to spend as much time with those he considered family before he left…just in case he didn't come back.

"All I can ask Shikamaru…is that you keep my wife and Atsuko safe." And Naruto suddenly grinned, even if the grin was forced and worried. "But I shouldn't worry. You never let your teammates get hurt on missions, ne? Isn't that your ninja way? To protect the team you lead?"

Shikamaru merely nodded once more. "Don't worry, Naruto. I'll protect them."

"Alright." Naruto sighed, pulling out a file. "I'll be sending for your teammates soon."

There was another long moment of silence as Shikamaru flipped the file open and saw the glaringly blank contents of the manila folder.

"…Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"…what's the mission?"

Naruto's strength seemed to leave him, and Shikamaru didn't think he'd ever seen him look so bedraggled and lost. He just then noticed the bags underneath Naruto's eyes, as if he'd gone days without sleep.

"…after his mission to infiltrate Rain three weeks ago he was attacked and we lost contact so…" Naruto swallowed, before he straightened, looking Shikamaru straight in the eye.

"I am sending you to find and retrieve Jiraiya."

* * *

Ino tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as she continued walking down the street towards the Academy. She smiled to herself, basking in the sunshine. It felt so nice, knowing that Konoha was finally at peace once again. 

People waved and greeted her as she went, including a few genin teams walking down the street with their newly appointed senseis.

"Ino-san!"

Ino blinked, turning around to see Lee running towards her, waving his arms frantically. His genin team was running behind him, seemingly out of breath. As soon as he stopped in front of Ino his team slumped to the ground, groaning and breathing raggedly.

"What is it Lee?"

Lee grinned and Ino was blinded by his teeth as she stumbled backwards. Happiness and joy seemed to bounce off of him in waves. He was literally jumping up and down like an excited child.

"OH it is too beautiful for words, Ino-san!"

"Eh?" Ino raised an eyebrow at that. Too beautiful for Lee to put into words? Not even _youth_ could describe his joy? This must have been something big. And Ino—as the appointed Village gossip—perked up a bit.

"Just tell her Lee-sensei!" The kunoichi on his team finally yelled, glaring at him. "We had to run all the way here just so you could talk to her!"

"And that was halfway across the village!" One of the boys added.

"And we did it in _two minutes_!" The other growled. All three collectively groaned before falling back onto the ground, apparently not sharing their senseis exuberance. 

"Well Lee?" Ino asked, grinning at his team's discomfort. Both of the male genin on his team were from Konoha but the kunoichi was from Suna as part of the Hokage and Kazekage's plan to unite the two villages even more by having their Genin interspersed with each other.

"I AM HAVING A CHILD!"

Ino fell backwards with a shriek.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Lee leaned over her, looking down worriedly and waving his hands in front of her face. "Oh my Ino-san that is not what I meant! You see, even with the power of youth that would be—"

"No need to explain any further, Lee." Ino laughed a little forcefully as she stood. "I'm guessing you mean that you are going to be a _father_?"

An excited nod was her answer.

"Er, I'm very excited for you and Tai Lee…" On the inside she was trying to mentally picture their child—and decided against it as she cringed. _That poor thing…_she merely plastered a smile on her face. "But um, why did you tell me about it? I mean, surely Gai-san or your old teammates would have been a better choice…"

"Tai Lee wants you to be the medic-nin who delivers our youthful baby into this world, Ino-san!" Lee was looking at her pleadingly. "Would you agree to this?"

"Er um, sure…" Ino nodded. 

"Yosh!"

Ino sweat dropped, watching Lee turn to his students. "Come! We must continue training for the upcoming Chunin Exams!"

"Sensei!" All three collectively whined even as they stood, rushing after their teacher who was already halfway down the street.

Ino merely stared after them, too shocked to do much else.

"…that poor child…"

* * *

The Uchiha compound was silent as always, even as Sasuke slid open the door to his old home and stepped onto the porch. He could hear birds chirping in the background but ignored it for the most part.

At the moment he was a bit angered with Naruto.

His best friend had refused to let him go on the retrieval mission to find Jiraiya. Apparently the council wanted Sasuke to remain in the village—something that had to do with him being the last Uchiha—and so he wasn't allowed to go on a mission that would mean immediate death.

_I wouldn't die on that mission, _he snorted silently, grabbing his shirt and throwing it over his head before he slipped on his Jonin vest. Ever since peace had settled on Konoha there had been less Anbu missions, giving Sasuke enough time to finally take the Chunin and Jonin exams. He was content with his position, even though he wished he could go on more missions.

But he knew the underlying reason that Naruto and the others didn't want Sasuke leaving. Jiraiya had apparently been out searching for more information on Akatsuki's plans due to the council's lingering distrust of their alliance with the group of criminals. So of course the fact that Jiraiya had disappeared in Rain could only mean that the Akatsuki were there as well, perhaps one of their bases.

Akatsuki meant Sakura and Itachi, and Naruto and the council were trying their hardest to keep Sasuke away from _both_. Sakura had told Naruto that she would come back to see them in her own time and the Rokudaime Hokage had tried to tell Sasuke that he'd have to accept that.

It wasn't working very well.

Ino had come back with the wonderful news that Sakura had given birth to a healthy baby girl. But that was years ago…what was their child like now? Did it have pink hair? Sasuke almost grinned at that. It would have been extremely amusing to see Itachi's child—a Sharingan wielding Uchiha—with bright pink hair. 

It seemed as if everyone was moving on except for him. Lee and Kiba were now Jonin senseis. Choji had taken over as the head of the Akimichi Clan and was too caught up in that for anything else. Ino was a teacher at the Academy and Tenten was helping her. Shino and Sai were still Anbu as before, but due to the lack of missions had become Anbu captains in place of Neji and Sakura and were helping to institute a new program for young, prodigal shinobi. Shikamaru was Naruto's tactitian expert and so he wasn't far from him. 

A part of Sasuke disliked the Nara merely because he seemed to have taken over Sakura's position. Sasuke was supposed to be at Naruto's right and Sakura was supposed to be at his left. They were team seven. _She_ was the smart one. They didn't need the genius, in his mind. But Sakura was not there…and so the lazy ninja would have to do.

Sasuke gave a small sigh, closing the door behind him as he walked out into the abandoned streets of the Uchiha compound.

* * *

Mikomi pulled on a pair of yellow rubber boots with a look of cool determination. There was a small bandage on her right hand from a kunai scratch, but it was the only visible evidence of her grueling training session with her father and two of her 'uncles' earlier that day. The only other sign of the tiresome activity was her slowed movement and stiffness of her body, as if her muscles had been pushed to their limits.

And so, after getting high remarks from the abovementioned Akatsuki members, Mikomi had asked if she could head into the village. Rain was under direct control of Leader-sama after all, and was the most secure village in most of the shinobi nations. Her father had agreed begrudgingly only after giving her 'the look'. 

She frowned. She hated the look, but she could decipher it immediately. She was to be home before dark. She was not allowed to talk to any shinobi in the village. She shouldn't even speak with any of the _civilians_ unless absolutely necessary. She was to never take any gifts offered her or eat any food without first checking it for poison. 

But, to put it bluntly, the look merely stated: _I will be watching you. _There wasn't much more to be said. One of her uncles or her father would always end up tailing her. But today she had finally pleaded enough that her only escort was her mother's favorite clay cat.

This was one of the times when Mikomi wished her mother was there. She was often more lenient with Mikomi when she wanted to leave the base—she'd come with her and they'd eat dango at the little café down the street. Or they'd go shopping for new clothes and her mother would laugh and Mikomi could almost imagine what her mother looked like when she was younger. 

That thought was a little uncomfortable, because Mikomi didn't want to believe that her mother could have possibly _ever_ been younger than she already was. It was her firm belief that mommies were born looking like they were supposed to be already—grown up and everything. I mean, if they weren't then how did they know what mommies were supposed to do, like making booboos feel better and scaring away monsters and nightmares? There wasn't a _school_ for those kinds of things! 

Mikomi merely sighed, slipping on her large raincoat and tugging on her snug little waterproof hat. She grabbed her umbrella _just in case_ and then smiled softly, opening the door to the base with a call to the open door to her right. "I'm going out now!"

"Have fun squirt!"

Her face scrunched up at Kisame's nickname for her but she ignored it as she walked outside and closed the door right after the clay cat had slipped outside as well, looking completely uncomfortable and annoyed with the situation. Cats didn't like water after all.

The soothing pitter-patter of rain made her want to giggle—but Mikomi was a big girl and a ninja so she would certainly _never_ do something like that. So she resisted the urge to skip down the street and merely walked straight down the road, inconspicuously trudging through as many puddles as possible.

She passed the dango shop and the lady who always sold the sweets to her and her mother waved at the quiet little girl. Mikomi nodded her head at her in greeting, and that was all the lady ever got out of the stoic child so she took it in stride, smiling back.

The streets were much more fun when it was raining. They were relatively empty, and lights from windows glowed against the dark veil of rain and clouds. There was no screaming of little children—she called them little, even if they were older than her because how on earth can twelve-year-old ninja really be so _immature_?

She began to get bored quickly, however. Maybe she should just head back and ask Sasori is he could show her his puppet jutsu again? She loved watching the little geisha marionette dance with its painted fan. He had told her that it was her mother's old puppet and held many weapons. One day it would be hers, he said.

When she was ready.

She frowned. She was ready _now. _She was a big girl after all! She would be four in two months!

"Rrrrrrrriiiiiiibbbiiiiiiiiit."

Mikomi blinked, looking down at the little puddle in front of her. She had been so lost in her musings that she hadn't noticed that she'd wandered to the edge of the village. Her boots were skimming the edge of a rather large puddle and in the middle of that puddle sat a frog.

She knelt down a bit and noticed that on further inspection it was not a frog at all. It was a toad. 

The cat beside her flicked its tail, eyeing the toad with a predatory gleam in its eyes. Upon even _further_ inspection she realized it wasn't quite a toad either.

"You're not a real toad." Mikomi pointed at the small animal. "Come on out."

There was a puff of smoke and when the smoke cleared the toad was gone. In its place sat an old, white-haired man.

"You're wet." She commented, pulling out her umbrella. She didn't hand it to him, however, as she cocked her head to the side, noticing a strange symbol on his shirt.

"Konoha?"

"You're a smart little girl, aren't you?" The man chuckled, and she just then noticed the wrinkles on his face, along with straight red lines that went from his eyes to his jaw. "You saw straight through my disguise!"

She said nothing. It was best, when dealing with enemy shinobi or those you weren't sure about, to never disclose any information that they would otherwise not know. Staying silent was her best option to prevent this.

"What's your name, kid?"

Nothing. Even if her curiosity was nagging at her. What kind of a man turned into a _toad_?

Jiraiya stared at the little girl in front of him in surprise. Her face was an emotionless mask. Dear god, how old _was_ she? She couldn't be taller than his knee and yet here she was looking like a well-trained shinobi.

Her hair was black and a bit unruly and went a little way past her ears. Her eyes were the most amazing emerald and a part of him was hit with a sudden wave of nostalgia before disappearing again. He was in the middle of enemy territory. He couldn't afford to be distracted, even by little girls that his mind told him he should recognize.

There was a soft hiss and he tensed, one hand going for a kunai even as he recognized the small brown lump sitting underneath the little girl's umbrella, tail twitching as it continued to regard him.

"Th-that…that's one of Sakura's cats!"

He saw something flicker in the little girl's eyes. "How do you know my mother?"

Jiraiya froze, mouth slightly agape at the girl in front of him. "Y-you…you're Sakura and Itachi's _kid_?"

A look of fear and guilt crossed her face as she realized her fault and she clamped her mouth shut in an effort to remain silent again, putting her hands up to catch any more words before they had a chance to escape. 

"Hey, don't worry kid. I knew your mother when she was younger. I'm the teacher of one of her best friends, Naruto."

She took a step backwards, eyes narrowing a bit, letting her hands drop. "You're an enemy shinobi in Rain territory. I should alert the guard." Because deep down she was afraid. She'd never seen a shinobi other than the Akatsuki members and a few Rain-nin. This one smelled like blood and she had to admit, he was a little scary.

"Kid!" Jiraiya felt a jolt of panic fill him, even as he put one hand to his side with a wince. "Hold on there!" He was in no condition to fight. He had been fighting off Rain-nin for days now. He was surprised he'd somehow gotten into the village at all in his current state.

"You're an enemy shinobi. You're trying to trick me into a false sense of security so I'll let my guard down!"

Jiraiya blinked. Wasn't this girl supposed to be _three_ or something?

"What the hell are you talking about kid? Listen, I know you don't believe me, but I'm a friend of your mother. Her name was Haruno Sakura before she married your father. She has pink hair and green eyes and monstrous strength just like her old sensei. She's a medic-nin too."

Mikomi crossed her arms over her chest and tried to look menacing, even if she was a little afraid. This man was a shinobi and even if he was injured he could still beat her easily. "Anyone who looked for my okaasan in the bingo book would know that much. Everyone knows about her."

_Damn. _Another point to the three-year-old Anbu look-alike.

"Listen kid…" Jiraiya grunted. "I am wounded. There are Rain-nin after me. I don't have time to stand around chatting." _Or _sit_ around chatting, _he thought, since he was still slumped down in the muddy puddle.

"Tell me something about her that only someone who _knew_ her would know. If I believe you, I'll help you hide from the Rain-nin." Mikomi finally said. She was getting annoyed with having to talk so much but it seemed necessary with this man.

Jiraiya found himself staring at her in surprise once again. The girl never ceased to amaze him—and hell, he'd only known her for what, seven minutes? What was she, some kind of prodigy?

_It figures. Look at her parents. _

Jiraiya finally swallowed as he noticed her continuing to watch him. "Alright…let's see…your mother has a scar on her arm that says her name. It looks as if it were carved there." He could only thank whoever was listening that he had seen the scar when Sakura had been walking out of her hospital room with Tsunade for a medical check-up.

Mikomi stiffened. She knew the scar. She'd seen it once or twice when her mother would roll up her sleeves. She had always wondered where it had come from but knew better than to ask. She looked over the man once more, trying to see any hint of a lie. 

"If you don't believe me you can ask the cat." He nodded at the clay creature sitting underneath Mikomi's umbrella. "I've dealt with Sakura's cats before."

The animal snickered. "Hello Jiraiya-san."

Mikomi turned to the animal in surprise. "Why didn't you say anything before, Neko-san?"

The cat gave a sly grin. "This was much more fun."

Mikomi frowned at the cat before bowing to Jiraiya. "I am sorry for distrusting you, Jiraiya-san." She then looked up. "…come." And then she whirled around, disappearing in the rain. The cat followed behind her dutifully, shooting Jiraiya a wicked grin.

Jiraiya managed to pull himself up with a grunt of pain. He didn't know if he could trust the little girl but by the looks of it, he'd have to take his chances. He wouldn't be able to fight off any more Rain-nin in his condition.

He could see her small figure disappearing into the thick foliage ahead and he followed her silently into the forest, one hand on a kunai. The rustling of the leaves stopped as his little savior stood still in the middle of the clearing.

She was standing near a large gnarled tree at the other end and he sighed, walking over to her. "Listen kid—"

"Mikomi."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, but Mikomi merely looked up at him, gaze defiant. "Uchiha Mikomi not _kid_."

"Alright…Mikomi…but why did you bring me here? I can't just hide in a tree—" Jiraiya stopped talking when Mikomi slipped between two large roots and beckoned for him to follow. He gave a sigh and followed dutifully. He was dead either way; he might as well humor the girl.

He shook off the rain with a sigh, finding a nice reprieve from the cold water in the entanglement of roots. The little girl—Mikomi—tugged on his sleeve, beckoning for him to follow her into a large section of roots. 

"Listen, no one could get through that." Jiraiya muttered irritably, but Mikomi merely gave him a withering look before passing through the roots as if they were made of air.

Jiraiya would have to stop making a habit at staring at everything the little girl did. He reached forward and touched the roots—and his hand went through them. It was a genjutsu. He crawled inside slowly and the moment he passed completely through the genjutsu he became engulfed in warmth.

He was now sitting inside a room-like structure beneath the large tree. There was a sleeping roll against one wall with three large blankets folded atop it. A shinobi pack hung on one of the roots that jutted from the earthy ceiling. 

"What is…?"

"There is food in the basket over there." Mikomi pointed to the corner he hadn't looked at as she went to the shinobi pack and took it from its perch. "Inside is stuff to make you better, and clothes."

Stuff to make him better? He looked into the pack and saw bandages and bottles of medicine. He smiled to himself. She was still a little girl, no matter what. It slipped through every once and a while.

"How did you find this?"

"This is my genjutsu tree." Mikomi's voice was filled with pride. "My mommy made it for me. It's so I can play hide-and-seek if bad men come. I have one near every base. You can use it as long as you don't ruin everything."

Jiraiya nodded slowly. 

"I have to go. If I'm late I'll be in trouble." Mikomi finally murmured, grabbing the clay cat into her arms. It meowed, fixing its penetrating gaze on Jiraiya. "I don't know if I can come back so just get better and leave, ok? This is a secret, 'cause I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

Jiraiya cracked a smile at that and reached out to ruffle the girl's hair. She quickly backed away from him, looking uncomfortable and suspicious. Then she gave a shy, girlish smile before disappearing through the genjutsu once more.

Jiraiyra sighed, slipping off his bloodstained shirt with a wince. 

Well, at least he knew that he'd found the Akatsuki.

* * *

Mikomi entered the base as quietly as possible. The entire place was silent as she placed the cat on the ground and slowly slipped out of her boots and raincoat. There wasn't any light coming from beneath her uncles' doors so she knew they were asleep. Her umbrella slipped out of her hand and landed on the ground with a loud thud.

Mikomi winced, waiting for the assault of footsteps as everyone rushed from their rooms to see what had happened. But none came, and Mikomi let out a relieved sigh before taking a few steps towards her bedroom.

Unfortunately she slipped on a puddle made by the water dripping off her raincoat and landed on the ground with a loud crash.

"Ow…."

"You are late."

Mikomi winced at the sound of her father's voice, emotionless and yet full of other emotions that apparently only she and her mommy could read. Mikomi looked up sheepishly at her father from where she lay on the floor. 

"Ne, otousan…I lost track of time talking with the dango lady."

"Who were you with?"

Mikomi froze. "…n-nani?"

"Tell me Mikomi, who were you with?"

Mikomi stood up and brushed mud from her skirt, giving her father and adorably cute grin. "I already told you, the dango lady otousan!"

"Who were you with?" Firmer this time.

Mikomi merely laughed. "A toad, daddy. I was playing with a toad. He looked like the frogs in the story you read me. Only there was just one and he was a _toad_ and he wasn't stupid." And then she went into her room and slipped beneath the covers.

Itachi watched her from where he stood in the doorway, his face emotionless. What no one could see was the inner turmoil inside of him. Whether he wanted to admit it or not he had felt a small stab of panic when Mikomi had not returned at her designated time. 

Her uncles had found it disconcerting as well. Kisame had decided to start drinking a little early while Sasori had tinkered with his puppets in the tea room a little longer than usual, as if to wait up for her when she returned. Deidara had paced the hallway for a good two hours before finally going to sleep, muttering to himself about how she couldn't be in any trouble because the cat hadn't alerted them to anything.

At least he hadn't started crying like Tobi, the damn idiot.

* * *

**A\N: So? Did you enjoy it? Now I know most parents wouldn't let a three year old do something like that but...well, Mikomi _is_ a prodigy. And of course Sakura would never let her go out alone but Sakura isn't there, only Itachi. And well...this is Itachi we're talking about. :P Anyway, I hope you all liked it.**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	5. Chapter 4: Visu the Woodsman

**(A\N: Well, here's the next chapter. :D Hope you guys like the ItaSakuness in this one. :) Hopefully the plot is going to start moving along in the next chapter or so and we'll find out Pein's true intentions...)**

**Chapter 4**

**Visu the Woodsman and the Old Priest**

* * *

Sakura gave a soft groan as she slumped into the room as silently as possible. Her body ached and her muscles were screaming at her for pushing herself so hard. But Sakura wouldn't have given up seeing her daughter and husband for anything in the world. She could stand aches and pains in the morning. She hadn't been able to see the two of them together for what seemed like ages. She was going to take full advantage of this.

She slipped off her cloak and folded it delicately on the chair in the corner of the room, placing her traveling pack and kasa on top of it. She'd unpack everything in the morning.

"Hn."

"Sorry," Sakura whispered almost inaudibly as she looked over at the bed where a large lump was lying beneath the covers. "Did I wake you?"

"Hn."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Right, sorry. How could I have ever assumed that you wouldn't have awoken the moment a new chakra had entered the base? How stupid of me." She could almost imagine the small smirk adorning his face right now as she smiled softly to herself.

She slipped out of her shirt and pants, leaving her in her underwear and chest bindings before she finally began walking towards the bed. Something rough brushed against her legs and she nearly tripped as her clay cat continuing curling itself around her feet, looking up at her with a completely innocent expression that stated: I've missed you so much Mistress, can't you take a second out of your day to pet me?

She merely nudged the cat with her foot while sighing. She knew full well how mischievous and conniving her little felines could be. She wasn't going to fall for the cute little kitten act, especially not when all she wanted to do was crawl into bed.

The cat hissed softly before jumping up onto the windowsill. Sakura's eyes flickered to the open window before she found herself heading towards it almost methodically. It was too cold, with all the rain from Pein's jutsu. Mikomi could get sick. Before she shut it, however, she surveyed the expansive village of Rain from her vantage point.

While the sky was completely black, the city was illuminated with lights. It was one of the more advanced cities, and Sakura wondered if it was ever truly dark here. She leaned out of the window a bit, letting the rain splatter against her hair and face.

A warm arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her possessively against a warm, hard chest.

"Coming to bed?" His voice was a seductive purr in her ear, making her shiver unconsciously—and not because of the cold weather outside. She merely leaned back against him with a contented sigh. How long had it been since they'd been able to share even more than a few passing moments with one another?

"How is Mikomi?" Sakura whispered back to him, hugging the arm that was placed so securely around her.

"Hn." His response made the hair at the nape of her neck flutter as he began kissing her neck. "She's been going outside a lot lately."

"Has someone been watching her?" Sakura asked worriedly, turning her head to look at him. He merely took the opportunity to captured her lips with his, smirking as she seemed to forget about her question as she twisted in his grasp so that she was facing him.

Her hands began weaving through his hair, tugging in a rather violent and desperate way that was extremely erotic to the crimson-eyed Uchiha. He bit her bottom lip—something that never failed to make her tremble. One of his hands was braced against the wall by the window while the other continued to hold onto her waist as they kissed.

He decided to let go of her waist long enough to brush a few locks of pale rose hair from her face. His fingers brushed against the white cloth around her forehead and it almost made him frown. The small band was ever present beneath her usual Konoha headband and even when she took the actual headband off to sleep the white cloth remained. He had never questioned her as to why because the mentioning of it at all seemed to make her uncomfortable. He had first noticed it after she had taken the Kyuubi out of the Hokage.

"…you're thinking about something." He heard Sakura whisper raggedly as she raked her fingernails up and down his chest. He couldn't help but elicit a small growl in response.

"Nothing in particular." He murmured back into her neck, nuzzling the side of her jaw. It was a strange habit he'd gained—something so un-Itachi-like that it was rather humorous. For someone who hated to cuddle he loved to merely bury his face in her neck and be content, at least for a while.

"You still haven't answered my question." Sakura continued, running a finger up and down his spine, looking up into his half-lidded gaze. "Has someone been watching Mikomi while she's been off in the village?"

He raised on eyebrow as if to say, 'do you really think I'd let my daughter out of my sight without some kind of surveillance?'

"It was just a question." Sakura almost laughed at Itachi's withering look. "No need to get defensive."

"Hn." He merely flicked his tongue against the underside of her jaw, making her squirm with a small moan. At the moment talking about his daughter was not what he had in mind. No, definitely not. They could talk about Mikomi in the morning. Now, however, he would prefer to engage in other activites.

And who could truly blame him? He and Sakura hadn't been able to actually have more than a heated kiss for at least three months now. And from two people who seemed to rather enjoy—they weren't necessarily _addicted_ to per se—sex they had become a bit desperate.

"Bathroom." Itachi muttered as Sakura's breathing became a bit more frantic and the bulge in his pants became a bit more noticeable.

"Why not the bed?" She asked distractedly.

"Mikomi had a nightmare."

Sakura blinked a few seconds. "We are not going to have sex in the bathroom with our daughter only ten feet away!" She tried to keep her voice down to a threatening whisper even as her cheeks heated at the thought.

Itachi continued with his assault against her neck and shoulder with his mouth. "She won't hear. We'll be very _quiet_." His voice was husky and unmistakably persuasive.

"We're _never_ quiet." Sakura retorted as Itachi grazed his teeth against her collarbone and she bit her lip to keep a moan from leaving her mouth, even as she began stumbling backwards towards the bathroom, Itachi never letting go of her.

Itachi merely smirked against her flushed skin, closing the bathroom door behind him. He tugged deftly on her chest bindings. They fell loose, her full breasts bouncing free as she gave a soft gasp at the sudden assault of cool air on that particular patch of skin.

His lips trailed from her collarbone to a breast while his hand massaged the other. She gave a small whimper as she arched her back into his touch. Sakura wrapped her legs around his hips as he lifted her up and placed her on the counter, his mouth never stopping its ministrations.

Sakura was thankful he was only wearing pants and not a shirt as she tugged frantically at his waistband. She jerked his slacks—and his boxers—down past his hips in one movement. He was standing in between her legs now, pressing her against the large mirror that rested against the wall behind the sink.

One of her hands grabbed the faucet handle of the sink for support as Itachi claimed her mouth once again, hands going to waist. One began to slip off her underwear as their tongues danced in her mouth and she grazed his lip with her teeth, earning a small growl in response.

Her underwear was slipped off carefully, his fingers caressing her thighs and legs as he slipped the garment off. Usually he wouldn't be this patient—he always told her she had plenty of underwear so it didn't matter if he ripped a few pairs in his impatience—but the idea of Sakura walking back into the bedroom with no underwear on was not one either of them seemed to be particularly fond of.

Itachi wasted no time after the underwear was gone, however, and entered her almost desperately. She wrapped her legs around his hips with an almost catlike mewl from the back of her throat, throwing her head back to rest against the mirror. He attacked her throat with his mouth once more, hands on her hips to steady her with each of his thrusts.

"I…ta…" She moaned softly, still capable of enough coherent thought to remember that their daughter was trying to sleep in the adjoining room.

He nipped the skin between her shoulder and neck, making her give a small cry. Her hand tightened on the faucet handle, causing it to turn. Water splashed into the skin, splattering across her bare thighs and Itachi's waist. Neither of the two seemed to notice this however as they continued their frenzied lovemaking.

Sakura cried out a little louder than she had anticipated as she climaxed a while later. As she tightened around him Itachi let out a primal growl, biting down on her shoulder as he came. Both of them remained where they were, panting. With every one of Sakura's breaths her breasts grazed his bare chest and Itachi contented himself with licking the small wound he'd inflicted upon her, almost as if in apology.

He rested his chin on her shoulder, peering at his reflection in the now fogged up mirror. He merely gave a satisfied smirk. Both of them were quite content with their positions as Sakura lazily turned off the faucet.

That was, until the door opened and Mikomi poked her head inside, "I have to use the bathroom."

Sakura shrieked, covering herself before bending down and grabbing Itachi's pants, practically jerking them back up his legs. "Mikomi close the door!"

Mikomi obeyed with a confused look on her face, whispering, "Were otousan and okaasan taking a bath?"

Sakura merely continued to blush furiously as she stared at the back of the bathroom door. She looked up at Itachi whose face betrayed nothing, although he looked a bit more disconcerted than usual.

"Help me wrap my chest." Sakura murmured, slipping off the counter and grabbed the bindings lying on the floor.

"Mommy! _Hurry_!" She heard Mikomi whine from the other side of the door.

Itachi merely let out an almost unnoticeable sigh as he began wrapping the bindings around Sakura's chest after she had slipped on her underwear, still bright red.

"This is so embarrassing." She whispered, mortified. "My own daughter!"

"She's three." Itachi answered back, kissing her throat. "She won't remember this."

"She's a prodigy with a photographic memory." Sakura shot back. "She'll never _forget_ this."

"Hn." Translation: She doesn't know what it means.

"She will when she's older!"

As soon as they were decent she opened the door with a small smile as Mikomi grinned up sleepily at her. "Okaasan is back from her mission?"

"Yes sweetie. So why don't you go to the bathroom and then we can all go to bed, ne?"

Mikomi nodded happily before slipping into the bathroom and closing the door behind her.

"I feel so dirty!" Sakura whispered to Itachi with a groan of despair. "And we probably smell like sex too, this is just great!" She resisted the urge to hit or throw something. Itachi had already slipped into bed, seemingly ignoring Sakura's ranting.

She finally followed him, pulling the silken sheets back and lying down beside him. His arm went around her waist immediately, burying his face in her neck as usual. Mikomi slipped underneath the covers a few moments later, asleep on her feet as she snuggled against Sakura with a contented sigh.

As soon as Sakura was sure she was out of it she whispered into the darkness, "If she ever asks, this never happened, agreed?"

"Hn."

Agreed.

* * *

Shikamaru stood in front of his team with a sigh. He, Kakashi, Hinata, and Atsuko were wearing their vests and regular Konoha shinobi outfits, while Anko wore her trademark mesh and tan trench coat.

Said woman was currently hanging onto Atsuko, trying to get him to blush at a lewd joke she had just made. He merely smiled at her patiently while making his own comment that made Anko frown and sigh with impatience.

Hinata, on the other hand, was blushing furiously as she tried to get Anko to stop. Kakashi merely chuckled. Shikamaru groaned. This was his all-star team? The best that Naruto could give him? A pervert, a masochist, a shy Hyuga, and an oblivious Chunin.

_My god we're all going to die, _he thought morbidly, before coughing to get their attention. They all went silent—though Anko continued to cuddle Atsuko as if he were a teddy bear while he smiled patiently at Shikamaru, waiting for his orders.

"Alright. Here's how we'll travel. Anko will be up front. Atsuko will be behind her with Kakashi and myself at his left and right. Hinata will bring up the rear." Shikamaru announced.

There was a collective nod and he was surprised how their faces became serious, so different from their normal personalities. Hinata activated her Byakugan, Kakashi summoned two of his dogs to scout ahead of them, and Anko and Atsuko put on their communication devices with a grim determination.

Right before they left Hinata placed a hand on Atsuko's shoulder, causing him to turn. She smiled down at him. "We're the underdogs in this mission, Atsuko-chan. Let's show everyone that we can be counted on too, ok? Everyone wants to look out for us but we can't let them. We have to be strong."

Atsuko nodded, looking down at the ground.

"I know you're afraid." Hinata whispered. "But…don't worry." She smiled gently. "Naruto would never send us on this mission if he didn't think we were capable. Let's make sure to help, ok?"

Atsuko nodded, smiling softly at her before he jumped up to his place behind Anko. With an unspoken signal that they all seemed to understand they disappeared into the forest. Hinata couldn't help the nagging feeling inside of her that said this could perhaps be the last mission she would ever go on.

* * *

Sakura saw Mikomi give a small frown at lunch. Itachi had gone out for a quick mission and promised he'd be back by nightfall, but Mikomi looked disheartened with the fact that one of her parents was being taken away from her again.

Because of this Sakura was trying to think of something to brighten her little girl's day. So far she was having little success, even after making a new clay cat and letting it have a fight with her geisha puppet. While Mikomi seemed to enjoy it she had lost interest quickly, looking down at the ground.

Because of _this_ Sakura was resorting to desperate measures. She had led Mikomi into their bedroom, placed her on the bed, and pulled out the storybook.

Mikomi gasped, grinning from ear to ear. "A story? But we never read those till bedtime!"

"You looked like you needed a story." Was all Sakura said as she sat down beside her.

She then sat Mikomi down in her lap and opened the book to the next page and pointed to the title. "This one reminds me of something a nice old Priest told me while I was away on my mission." Sakura murmured as Mikomi shifted in her lap, looking up at her expectantly as she waited for her mother to read.

Sakura flipped past the title page to a picture of a woodcutter in front of a hut and began reading, "Visu the Woodsman and the Old Priest."

"This one sounds boring." Mikomi huffed, while Sakura merely laughed and continued.

_"Many years ago there lived on the then barren plain of Suruga a woodsman by the name of Visu. He was a giant in stature, and lived in a hut with his wife and children._

_One day Visu received a visit from an old priest, who said to him: "Honorable woodsman, I am afraid you never pray."_

_Visu replied: "If you had a wife and a large family to keep, you would never have time to pray."_

_This remark made the priest angry, and the old man gave the woodcutter a vivid description of the horror of being reborn as a toad, or a mouse, or an insect for millions of years. Such lurid details were not to Visu's liking, and he accordingly promised the priest that in future he would pray._

_"Work and pray," said the priest as he took his departure._

_Unfortunately Visu did nothing but pray. He prayed all day long and refused to do any work, so that his rice crops withered and his wife and family starved. Visu's wife, who had hitherto never said a harsh or bitter word to her husband, now became extremely angry, and, pointing to the poor thin bodies of her children, she exclaimed: "Rise, Visu, take up your ax and do something more helpful to us all than the mere mumbling of prayers!"_

_Visu was so utterly amazed at what his wife had said that it was some time before he could think of a fitting reply. When he did so his words came hot and strong to the ears of his poor, much-wronged wife._

_"Woman," said he, "the Gods come first. You are an impertinent creature to speak to me so, and I will have nothing more to do with you!" Visu snatched up his ax and, without looking round to say farewell, he left the hut, strode out of the wood, and climbed up Fujiyama, where a mist hid him from sight._

_When Visu had seated himself upon the mountain he heard a soft rustling sound, and immediately afterward saw a fox dart into a thicket. Now Visu deemed it extremely lucky to see a fox, and, forgetting his prayers, he sprang up, and ran hither and thither in the hope of again finding this sharp-nosed little creature._

_He was about to give up the chase when, coming to an open space in a wood, he saw two ladies sitting down by a brook playing go. The woodsman was so completely fascinated that he could do nothing but sit down and watch them. There was no sound except the soft click of pieces on the board and the song of the running brook. The ladies took no notice of Visu, for they seemed to be playing a strange game that had no end, a game that entirely absorbed their attention. Visu could not keep his eyes off these fair women. He watched their long black hair and the little quick hands that shot out now and again from their big silk sleeves in order to move the pieces._

_After he had been sitting there for three hundred years, though to him it was but a summer's afternoon, he saw that one of the players had made a false move. "Wrong, most lovely lady!" he exclaimed excitedly. In a moment these women turned into foxes and ran away._

_When Visu attempted to pursue them he found to his horror that his limbs were terribly stiff, that his hair was very long, and that his beard touched the ground. He discovered, moreover, that the handle of his ax, though made of the hardest wood, had crumbled away into a little heap of dust._

_After many painful efforts Visu was able to stand on his feet and proceed very slowly toward his little home. When he reached the spot he was surprised to see no hut, and, perceiving a very old woman, he said: "Good lady, I am amazed to find that my little home has disappeared. I went away this afternoon, and now in the evening it has vanished!"_

_The old woman, who believed that a madman was addressing her, inquired his name. When she was told, she exclaimed: "Bah! You must indeed be mad! Visu lived three hundred years ago! He went away one day, and he never came back again."_

_"Three hundred years!" murmured Visu. "It cannot be possible. Where are my dear wife and children?"_

_"Buried!" hissed the old woman, "and, if what you say is true, you children's children too. The Gods have prolonged your miserable life in punishment for having neglected your wife and little children."_

_Big tears ran down Visu's withered cheeks as he said in a husky voice: "I have lost my manhood. I have prayed when my dear ones starved and needed the labor of my once strong hands. Old woman, remember my last words: "If you pray, work too!"_

_We do not know how long the poor but repentant Visu lived after he returned from his strange adventures. His white spirit is still said to haunt Fujiyama when the moon shines brightly."_

Mikomi mumbled something before she looked up at her mother with a frown. "I don't get that one."

"You will when you're older." Sakura smiled.

"But I'm gonna be older _soon_!"

"Oh my, that's right! "You're going to be four soon, aren't you?" Sakura smiled down at her daughter who continued to wiggle in her lap.

"Yup. I'll be a big girl in _two_ months!" A hint of pride shown through her usually calm voice as she gave her mother an excited smile. Mikomi had been counting down the time since the day after her third birthday so for her it was extremely exciting.

"What do you want for your birthday?" Sakura asked. "A new doll?"

"_Sasori-san_ will get me a doll." Mikomi answered. "And Deidara-san always gets me my crayons and paint to draw with. And Kisame-san always gets me kunai."

"Then what do you want Daddy and I to get you?" Sakura finally murmured, brushing her daughters messy hair, even as she fidgeted. While Mikomi talked more often with Sakura and Itachi then she did anyone else, talking and physical contact were not something she enjoyed too much. She was like a wild cat--they would allow themselves to be pampered only so often and were too independent to stay in one place for too long.

"I want to see a train." Mikomi's face was serious as she looked up at her mother pleadingly. "Please?"

Sakura blinked. "You want to see a train?"

"Hai!" And Mikomi gave one of her rare grins. "Deidara-san told me they're huge and they move 'cause of STEAM like a tea kettle." Her eyes were wide. "They must need a big tea kettle if it's as long as Deidara-san said, like a big metal snake."

"I've seen a train before." Sakura nodded, "It was in Snow Country. It was very big indeed, but I didn't see a tea kettle." She teased, giving Mikomi a poke to her forehead. "I think Deidara was teasing."

Mikomi shook her head. "Nu-uh! And I'm going to ride on one and ask them to see the tea kettle too!"

"Oh are you?" Sakura laughed. "Let's see...I'll think about it, ok? There aren't many trains anywhere close by..." She bit her lip as she thought, before snapping her fingers. "Aha! There is one downtown in the main Rain Village."

"The one where Konan-san and Leader-sama live all the time when they aren't here?" Mikomi asked.

"Hai."

Mikomi giggled. "I get to see a train, I get to see a train!"

"Maybe we can let you ride on it too." Sakura suggested.

Mikomi's eyes widened in delighted surprise. "I could RIDE it?"

Sakura nodded. "We'll just have to ask your daddy, ok?"

Mikomi merely jumped off of her mother's lap and ran down the hallway, "Deidara-san, Deidara-san! I get to see the train!"

* * *

Jiraiya grunted as he shifted on his small bed, blankets wrapped securely around him. He'd cleaned and bandaged his side before going to bed, but hadn't looked into his minor wounds because he had been so tired.

Now, as he stared up at the root-covered ceiling, arms stinging as if they were on fire, he realized that not cleaning them had been a mistake. He groaned as he pushed himself into a sitting position. He fumbled around in the semi darkness for a match and struck it before lighting a candle from his small supply.

He grimaced as he rolled back his sleeves. Apparently the kunai that had cut into him hadn't been cleaned properly before being thrown at him. His cuts were infected, a few oozing yellow puss.

"Damn." He pulled some ointment from the medical pack and couldn't help but smile. It was in a small container that looked suspiciously like the ones Tsunade used for the exact same ointment.

_Like master, like student, _he thought amusedly before smearing it over his wound. He felt healing chakra seep into his skin and the sting began subsiding. He wrapped the cream covered cuts with some more bandages.

The burning sensation stopped as his arms became ice cold for a moment before they began to feel normal again. His head hurt a little bit as he took a sip of water from the bottle Mikomi had left for him.

There was some ninja rations—and, he noticed bemusedly, _pocky_—in the food pouch. He left the pocky for Mikomi—she'd probably notice if he took it—and ate some of the rations instead. He decided against eating a soldier pill, since he would need those in case Mikomi either told someone about him or they merely found him.

For some reason, as he lay nestled into the blankets beneath the ground, he felt comforted. He wondered if it was part of the jutsu Sakura had placed there. It made sense that she'd make it so that the person inside of the genjutsu would feel warm and safe, since it had been made for Mikomi.

_That little girl is smart, a prodigy. She's only three and she could see through my disguise! _He swallowed. _What if she becomes another Itachi?_ And then he shook his head furiously. _Nah, I could see that there was no hatred or resentment in her eyes. Mikomi isn't like Itachi. She must have inherited more from her mom than just her green eyes._

And he smiled to himself before blowing out the candle and slipping beneath the blankets once more. Hopefully he'd be healed enough by tomorrow to venture outside of the genjutsu tree for a quick scouting of the area.

**(A\N: so, did you like it? I hope you all enjoyed it. Now I just have to update Shades of Grey and I'll have updated everything! :D Well, see ya!**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	6. Chapter 5: Checkmate

****

(A\N: Sorry this took so long. It's a little longer than usual...so hopefully that'll make you happy. :D Anyway, enjoy!)

**Chapter 5**

**Checkmate**

* * *

"Mikoomiii!" Sakura sang softly, smiling as she stuck her head into the kitchen before turning back to the hall after a quick scan. "Where aaaarrreee you?"

Silence.

Sakura placed a hand on her hip and frowned, looking around the large base. "Whatever will I do? You're too good for me Miko-chan. I can't find you anywhere!"

And then she felt a tug on her pants and her daughter was smiling up at her softly, but her eyes were serious. "Okaasan, I'm not _stupid_. You could sense my chakra signature from the beginning. You knew I was hiding under Deidara's bed."

Sakura sighed, "Hide and seek is supposed to be fun, Miko-chan." She knelt down next to her daughter and ruffled her hair. Then her face became worried. "_Are_ you having fun, Miko-chan? We don't get that much time together so I just thought you might want to play a game…" She drifted off uncertainly.

Mikomi quickly tried to placate her mother. "Okaasan, don't be sad!" She swallowed, panicking a bit. "It's just no fun because you're so good! We can play something else and I'll have fun! Let's go get dango!"

Sakura laughed softly, "Alright Miko-chan. By the time we get back I bet your father will be back from his mission. We can't eat too much though, we don't want to spoil your dinner."

Mikomi's smile brightened a bit, becoming more like the child-like grin that the little prodigy so often hid. She, her mother, and her daddy had spent the night before planning her upcoming birthday. Her daddy had agreed that she could see a train and that maybe she could ride one. Nothing could make her happier at the moment. Daddy had to go on a quick mission, only a few hours, with a promise that they would go out to eat when he returned, just the three of them.

Sakura pulled on her own raincoat before buttoning up Mikomi's and helping her pull on her boots. She pulled out an umbrella and opened the door of the base. The sound of pouring rain filled their ears as they walked out into the downpour.

* * *

"Here we are." Kakashi grunted. "Rain's border."

"Nice place." Anko snickered as she eyed the sheet of rain that literally divided Rain from the rest of the shinobi nations.

Hinata fumbled with her pack, swallowing to wet her dry throat. Something felt wrong here. The rain itself seemed like a bad omen to her. She wondered if she touched it, perhaps it would be acid instead of rain and would eat away at her until she was nothing.

"Hinata-san?"

Hinata blinked, turning to Atsuko. "Hm?"

"You looked troubled." Atsuko admonished, smiling at her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Hinata answered back, but even to her it didn't sound convincing. Before Atsuko could question her further, however, Shikamaru called her.

"Hinata, can you use your Byakugan to look at the rain for me?"

Hinata nodded, activating her eye jutsu and giving a small gasp. "That's…it's amazing…"

"What is it?" Kakashi asked.

"Every drop of rain is infused with chakra. If one drop hits another chakra source—ours…whoever made this rain will know."

"So it isn't natural then." Anko grunted. "That's great. What kind of monstrous chakra supply would it take to keep rain like that around an entire village?"

"A lot." Shikamaru sighed softly, getting into his familiar thinking pose. "Everyone take a break while I try and think of a way inside."

Everyone nodded, but Hinata was glad to see that Atsuko did not come over to ask her how she was doing. He seemed to understand her need to be alone and so he sat next to Shikamaru, eyes closed as he meditated. She wondered if he was as scared as she was right now. She knew she had told him that they needed to be strong for this mission and show the others that they could be depended on but…something in her gut told her that something big was going to happen.

Hinata's gut instincts had always been right in the past.

"Do you think one of my snakes could get through?" Anko suggested after five or so minutes of silence.

Hinata shook her head. "Your summoning consists of chakra. They would be sensed."

Anko grumbled something that sounded like a curse and Hinata smiled patiently at her. She knew that Anko's annoyance wasn't directed at her, but at their current predicament.

Shikamaru's eyes finally snapped open as he sighed. "Atsuko?"

"Yes?" Atsuko stood, looking serious and ready for whatever Shikamaru asked of him.

"Do you think you could manipulate the chakra?"

Atsuko's eyes flickered a bit uncertainly, before he stood a bit straighter, looking confident. "I can try."

"We need you to do more than _try_ kid—" Anko began, but was cut off as Atsuko began once more.

"It's not that I _can't_ manipulate the chakra. I can definitely do that. It's just…I don't know if I can do it without the owner of the jutsu _noticing_. That will take extreme concentration."

"You won't be able to go through the veil then." Kakashi concurred.

Atsuko nodded.

"Someone needs to stay and protect him, too, since he'll be vulnerable while he's holding up the wall." Shikamaru grunted. "Kakashi, you stay with Atusko."

Kakashi nodded after a moment's hesitation.

Atsuko settled himself down comfortably on the ground. Before he did anything however, he looked up at Shikamaru. "Ne…Shikamaru-san?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think…will you see Sakura-sama?"

There was a moment of silence before Hinata spoke, "I don't think we'll see her, Atsuko-kun."

Atsuko nodded. "Right." His voice was barely above a whisper.

"We don't have much time left. Jiraiya could already be dead." Anko commented.

Atsuko nodded, sighing deeply before he pulled out a small set of panpipes. It was the only thing he had ever taken with him from Sound, and the only reason he did so was because it was part of his special jutsu. Atsuko sometimes wondered if it was a kekkei genkai or something someone else could learn. No one had ever been able to do so, so he supposed it was inherited. He put his lips to the first pipe and blew. A soft note issued across the little clearing, and the group saw an outline of chakra form in the semblance of a door on the wall of rain.

Soon he began to meld notes of the song together, and they saw the chakra door glow a soft purple before disappearing. His eyes met Shikamaru's as he continued playing and he nodded. It was safe to walk inside.

"Go straight ahead." Hinata directed, her Byakugan able to see the place where Atsuko's own chakra was seeming to repel the rain's chakra.

Anko nodded before she took the lead, disappearing into the water. It struck her, but it was plain rain with no chakra in it. Shikamaru went next, and Hinata swallowed as she stood in front of the wall.

"Go on, Hinata." Kakashi urged gently.

Hinata looked back at him and smiled faintly, before taking a deep breath and stepping forward. It was like being hit with icy daggers as the freezing drops pelted her skin. She gasped out at the cold temperature before walking through it quickly. She was drenched when she reached the other side, but the rain that met her there was warm, fitting the sticky, humid air that now clung to them.

"So this is Rain." Anko murmured, peering at the lights that flickered in the distance. "Do you think Jiraiya is in the city?"

Hinata merely scanned the area with her Byakugan. Her brow furrowed in concentration. "From what I see on the outskirts of the city he isn't there, but he could be deeper inside. But…I don't think he would venture in that far. He would be recognized immediately."

Shikamaru nodded. "Scan the forest then."

Hinata nodded, swallowing the sour taste that rose in her mouth. Something was wrong…terribly wrong…

Her Byakugan strained, making her eyes burn as she searched through the trees. It seemed as if she would never find him. "Maybe he went into the village after all—wait!" She gasped. "I see his chakra signature! It's faint, but if we follow the trail we should reach him."

"Do you think it's a trap?" Anko asked Shikamaru.

The younger man bit his lip before he grunted. "Well if it is, we're going to walk right into it. Come on, this may be our only chance to find him."

"I'm a little surprised we haven't been attacked yet. I mean, the only resistance we've seen was the border patrol before we entered the village," Anko commented.

"It's not hard getting in that's troublesome." Shikamaru shrugged as they whistled through the trees, following Hinata's directions. "It's getting out that's the problem."

Anko grinned almost sadistically, her purple hair plastered to her face because of the rain. "Well, it wouldn't be as fun if we snuck in and then out again without a fight."

* * *

"…okaasan?"

Sakura turned to her daughter in surprise as she took a sip of her tea. "Yes Miko-chan?" They were sitting at the dango shop, where Mikomi was slowly pulling the little dumplings from their stick and popping them into her mouth. Sakura had ordered only tea for herself and had been having a pleasant conversation with the owner of the shop before Mikomi had spoken.

"…do you know a man named Jiraiya?"

She saw her mother still for a moment, her hands freezing in their motion of bringing her cup to her lips. It was gone in a second, however, as she took another sip. She looked back at Mikomi with a smile. "What makes you ask?"

Mikomi's eyes flickered to the dango lady who was serving another customer, before she looked back to her mother. "…can I talk to you outside?"

Sakura nodded, feeling apprehensive and a little curious as she paid for their food and drink and then took her daughter by the hand out into the rainy street, an umbrella as their only protection against the stormy onslaught.

"What do you know about Jiraiya, Miko-chan?" Sakura asked calmly as they continued down the street.

"He said he knew you, that's all." Mikomi whispered.

Her mother whipped around, eyes wide as she stared down at her. "Miko-chan, where did you see him? When did you talk to him!?"

Mikomi had never seen her mother look so panicked.

"I…" She swallowed. "Okaasan, I found him outside of the city. He was hurt so I let him stay in my genjutsu tree. I didn't want to tell daddy because I didn't want to get in trouble for talking to strangers. Don't be mad at me, please!"

Sakura knelt down next to her daughter and hugged her. "It's ok Miko-chan, I'm not mad. I'm glad you told me and not daddy."

"Why?"

"Well, your daddy doesn't get along with all of my friends. He doesn't really like Jiraiya-san." _That's about the biggest understatement I've ever made._

"Oh." Mikomi whispered.

"So they are in the genjutsu tree?" Sakura asked, and Mikomi could tell that her mother was thinking of some kind of plan. It was in the way her emerald eyes darkened in thought and contemplation.

Mikomi merely nodded.

"Alright Mikomi…I need you to go home, ok? Don't tell anyone where I went. Just say I had to get something in town and it was a surprise so I didn't want you to see it." She pulled out a scroll and summoned one of her clay cats.

"Take my daughter back to the base." She ordered, and the cat nodded before turning to Mikomi as if to say: come on, let's go slowpoke!

"But mommy—"

"Go Mikomi. I'll be back in time for dinner, ok?"

Mikomi nodded slowly. "…alright mommy…"

Sakura smiled at her daughter and gave her a kiss on the forehead before she began running towards the forest as she saw Mikomi follow the cat back to the base.

_Jiraiya…is it really you? _

_Why are you here?_

A million questions filled her head, and she couldn't think of any answers to them. So she merely picked up speed.

_…Leader-sama must know he's here. Nothing escapes his eyes. But…if he knew…why hasn't he done something about it?_

_…_

_…_

_…_

_…or what if he_ has_?_

She shot chakra to her feet to quicken her pace.

* * *

Hinata tried to concentrate on keeping her footing. The grass was slick from the rain, and it often gave way to long stretches of mud that sucked at her sandals and threatened to engulf them. She skidded to a halt in the middle of a clearing and gasped as her feet sunk a few inches into the earth. She almost fell, but caught herself.

Anko and Shikamaru appeared beside her.

"Where is he?"

"The tree." Hinata whispered. "…he's in the tree."

"What?" Anko grunted. "He's in a tree?"

Hinata pointed at the large, gnarled roots. "In there. There's a chamber underground…I can see him in it."

"Let's go." Shikamaru slipped through the root, grumbling at the mud coating his outfit. At least they were out of the rain. He blinked a few times as he surveyed the small hollow that the roots created. "Uh Hinata…I don't see him. Are you sure this is it?"

"Of course!" Hinata murmured, coming in behind him. She crawled passed him. "It's through here. It's a genjutsu." And then she disappeared into the roots that ran along one wall.

"I didn't think Jiraiya knew this level of genjutsu." Anko commented from behind Shikamaru.

"He doesn't." Shikamaru's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Come on." And then he too, disappeared into the roots.

* * *

Jiraiya groaned softly as he turned over, feeling sore. His stomach ached from a few broken ribs that he hadn't been able to heal, due to his utter lack of medical-jutsu knowledge.

He had been having a good sleep and he couldn't understand what had made him wake up so suddenly. His muscles were tense and his hand had unconsciously gone to a kunai. He gripped it tightly, opening up his chakra senses.

He paled.

There were three chakras right outside, and they were very strong. In his current state he was as good as dead.

_They found the tree…_he swallowed. Had the little girl told on him? Or worse…had Sakura's daughter been forced to tell, or captured? He heard the sound of people moving on the other side of the genjutsu—before a dark head appeared.

He reached forward and grabbed the person, pushing a kunai to their neck as he growled, "Don't move."

"It's alright, Jiraiya-san."

Jiraiya let go of his target with a shocked cry of relief. "Hinata!"

She smiled calmly at him as Shikamaru and Anko burst through the genjutsu. "Jiraiya-san!"

"What are you three doing here? And how did you find me?" Jiraiya asked, before his eyes narrowed. "Did Mikomi tell you I was here?"

"Mikomi?" Hinata asked, brow furrowed. "I saw you with my Byakugan…"

"Who is Mikomi?" Shikamaru's voice was filled with curiosity and a little suspicion.

Jiraiya gave a low chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck as he grinned sheepishly. "She's Sakura's daughter."

Silence.

"Y-you met her?" Hinata leaned forward expectantly. "What is she like? How did you know it was her daughter? Did you see Sakura?" her voice was so full of pleading excitement that Jiraiya was a little saddened that he had to dampen her spirits a bit.

"Mikomi found me, actually, wounded. I haven't seen Sakura." Then his own voice filled with a bit of awe. "That girl…she saw through my own transformation jutsu and she made me tell her something about Sakura that no one else would know before she would help me. She's extremely smart, _insanely_ smart for a three-year-old."

"Well look at her _parents_." Anko muttered. "Listen, as much as I'm enjoying this little reunion we need to get Jiraiya out of here." She gave a small grunt. "Damn I wish we had a medical shinobi with us. At least we can get you to Atsuko when we get back out of Rain." The Chunin knew a few medical jutsus from Ino.

Jiraiya nodded. "Yeah. We're probably putting Mikomi and possibly Sakura by being here. If the Leader of the Akatsuki figures out that they were hiding me here…" He trailed off because no one needed any explanation as to what would happen.

"…did you find anything out?" Shikamaru murmured after a moment of tense silence.

Jiraiya nodded, "A little. And I don't think Naruto is going to like it." But he stopped as they all felt a small chakra spike outside of the tree.

"Rain-nin!" Anko hissed, as she and the others grabbed for kunai.

* * *

Sakura clutched a kunai tightly in her hands as she landed in front of the tree. Her eyes widened a bit. There was more than one chakra signature inside. Had some Rain-nin already come and killed him? Or were they attacking him right now? She could still save him!

She rushed forward, charging through the genjutsu and into the small room—gasping as she almost ran full force into someone's back—a back covered in a Konoha Jonin vest.

The person whipped around, and Sakura stared in openmouthed surprise at the four shinobi sitting inside, as they all stared back at her, equally shocked.

"…Sakura…?"

* * *

Mikomi slipped inside of the house easily enough. It wasn't as if she was sneaking inside or trying to get in unseen. The cat slipped passed her legs and dashed down the hall to her mother's room.

Mikomi merely leaned against the wall, a little scared. What was going to happen? Why had her mother seemed so scared if Jiraiya was a friend? And why wouldn't her daddy like her mommy's friends?

"Hello there, Miko-chan."

Mikomi blinked, looking up at the regal woman standing in front of her. Mikomi remembered her well, even if she had only seen her once or twice. She was intimidating, and Mikomi always felt scared in her presence. But she wasn't going to show it as she bowed slightly.

"Hello Konan-san."

"Where is your mother?"

Mikomi forced a shy smile, "My mommy said she was getting me a surprise for my birthday." She giggled, "Isn't that exciting Konan-san? I'll be a big girl soon!"

Konan merely snorted, but Mikomi swore she saw her gaze soften for a moment before hardening back into her cold visage.

"Yes, I suppose you _will_ be a big girl. Big enough to begin real shinobi training, ne?"

Mikomi cocked her head to one side, gaze suspicious even as she gave a girlish smile to hide her growing apprehension. "What do you mean by _real_ shinobi training, Konan-san?"

Konan merely gave a cold smile. "When I was your age I had seen death and had experienced torture and loss. You are too sheltered."

"Hn."

Konan's eyes flickered at the little girl's grunt that was so charictaristic of her father. "If you were to see loss and pain and experience it then you would have a stronger mind, little one."

"Why would I need a stronger mind, Konan-san?"

"A strong mind will help you fight off anyone who tried to take it over." Konan shrugged, but she looked almost uncomfortable and fearful as she spoke. "You can fight off a strong consciousness if you had a strong mind of your own."

Mikomi's eyes narrowed and her eyes flickered—Konan paled and she swore that she was imagining things as Mikomi smiled brightly at her, "I need to go, Konan-san. It's best not to be mean to people though. Threatening them is rude." And then she skipped off, calling to her father and Deidara and Kisame and asking if they had any chocolate she could have before mommy got home.

Konan gripped the small paper crane that had been in her hand. It was crumpled and ruined now, and it made a crinkling sound as her hands trembled slightly.

For one second, when she had been staring into Mikomi's eyes…they had flickered crimson.

_Perhaps you are stronger than I expected, _Konan thought, and for some reason it made her strangely relieved.

…_perhaps your mind will be strong enough to defeat him._

* * *

Sakura trudged into the base soaking wet, water and mud dripping from her cloak and onto the recently cleaned floor.

"Stop tracking that shit in here."

Sakura raised a weary gaze to the blue-haired woman leaning against the wall a few feet away.

"Don't talk to me."

Konan snorted, before folding her arms in front of her chest and looking down the darkened hallway.

"My daughter got back safely, I presume?" Sakura asked casually.

Konan said nothing, merely pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and began folding it. Sakura stopped stripping off her sandals as she watched Konan make a beautifully intricate flower. It was an amazing talent of hers; one Sakura wished she had. But all Sakura's hands were good for was jutsu and healing. She'd tried her hand at art once or twice before and had found out quickly that anything beyond molding explosive clay into cats was beyond her. Sai had often liked to point this out while staring down at her botched attempts at painting.

They stayed in silence for a few moments, Sakura watching and Konan manipulating the thin paper in her hands and turning it into a masterpiece. Sakura didn't know why she always stopped to stare when Konan made her origami. It was as if a magic spell had been cast on her the moment she saw the paper being folded by Konan's nimble fingers. It was the only time Sakura could honestly say that she and Konan could remain civil to one another.

When the paper was folded they would always sink back into a barely tolerable bitterness. Sakura didn't know how it started or why, only that Konan hated her for something—and yet she seemed to want to be her friend as well. She was warring with herself and Sakura could say the same for her own conscience.

The flower was finished, and Konan held it in her palm. She turned towards Sakura, who had finished taking off her wet clothing, standing now in only her usual yukata before slipping on some dry sandals.

After a moment's hesitation she held the flower out towards the younger woman.

Sakura blinked a few times, looking down at the paper lotus that had been practically shoved under her nose, then back up to the cold face of the woman holding it. Konan's eyes were flickering with a softness that Sakura hadn't seen before.

"…do you like it…?" She whispered, and Sakura caught a hint of anticipated shyness, like a little girl showing off her new finger painting to her parents and afraid that they wouldn't like it.

"It's beautiful." Sakura nodded, and she wasn't lying. Her tone was sincere and she gave a small smile. Konan's lips tipped upwards, before she placed the flower in Sakura's hand. "…I wanted to…I wanted to give it to Mikomi for her birthday. Could you do that for me?"

Sakura gave another nod. "Of course. She'll love it."

Konan gave an almost shy smile, before her face became cold and hard once again, even as a flicker of sadness flashed through her eyes. "Good. Leader-sama is expecting you in his office."

Sakura froze at that.

_Does he know about Jiraiya and the others?_

She swallowed, noticing that Konan had disappeared.

_Oh god…I just hope they're gone by now!_ She resisted the urge to find Mikomi and Itachi and instead headed down the hallway towards Leader's room. She raked a hand through her hair as she remembered the conversation she'd had only an hour or so ago.

_She sat in front of them, still slightly shocked. Hinata was holding her and crying softly, while Shikamaru, Jiraiya, and Anko just stared. _

_"I didn't…well, when Mikomi told me that Jiraiya was here I didn't expect to find anyone else." Sakura finally murmured._

_Jiraiya grinned. "Your little girl is an interesting one, Sakura."_

_Sakura smiled back softly._

_"Listen, no need to break up the reunion and all, but we came here for Jiraiya and we need to leave." Anko cut in a bit tersely._

_Sakura nodded slowly. "Anko is right. You need to leave. There's no telling how long it'll be until Leader-sama realizes you're here and sends someone. I won't be able to protect you then."_

_Shikamaru nodded._

_"I haven't finished my mission yet." Jiraiya grunted. "I can't just leave."_

_"Yes, you can." Sakura said flatly. _

_"Sakura…" Hinata whispered against her shoulder. "Do we really have to leave so soon? I—I haven't seen you in so long…you said you'd come back and I want to see Mikomi and—"_

_Sakura laughed softly, giving the dark-haired girl a squeeze. "Calm down, Hinata-chan. You sound like Ino when you do that."_

_Hinata smiled back, and Sakura continued. "Don't worry, we'll be coming to visit soon…Mikomi turns four in a few months. I wanted to know if perhaps you would all like to celebrate her birthday in Konoha?"_

_Hinata gasped, face brightening as she nodded. "Hai! Oh! That would be…!" She merely beamed, not able to continue. The shock of seeing her good friend again was making it hard to talk. _

_Then Sakura's gaze darkened. "Listen…you need to get Jiraiya-san out of here as soon as possible. No doubt Leader-sama already knows you are here. He's probably known from the beginning."_

_"How is that possible?"_

_Sakura shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "He knows everything."_

_There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Sakura reached forward and began healing Jiraiya's wounds. "Listen." She spoke as her hands glowed green. "Leader-sama is going to enact his plan soon. I'm not sure what he is going to do, only that Konoha may be in danger. I am trying my hardest to keep that from happening." She swallowed as their gazes rested on her in shock._

_"…I'm afraid Leader-sama has some dark trick up his sleeve and I'm going to find out what it is. I need you to get to Naruto and tell him to go to my old home. There is a scroll there that he needs to keep. He is not to open it, and if myself, Itachi, and—and Mikomi die by some means, it is to be given to Sasuke."_

_"Sakura—"_

_"Just…do it ok?"_

_"Are you in danger, Sakura?" Shikamaru asked._

_Sakura gave a small grin. "When dealing with the Akatsuki…you're _always_ in danger."_

_The dark sense of foreboding that had left at Sakura's appearance returned to Hinata, and she swallowed, feeling sick._

Sakura breathed in deeply as she stopped in front of Leader's door. She lifted her hand to knock but was stopped at the cold voice that echoed throughout the darkened hallway.

"Come in."

* * *

She walked into Pein's room slowly, closing the door behind her. The chess board was in it's normal place and she walked towards it, seeing Pein sitting in his usual chair.

"It's good of you to come, Sakura. I have some things I need to discuss."

Sakura nodded slowly, though her eyes flickered with suspicion as she lowered herself into her own chair opposite his.

"Tea?"

"No thank you." Sakura answered back, watching as Pein lifted his own steaming cup to his lips. She saw him smirk against the rim of his cup at her wary gaze.

She was afraid. That was good. It would make things so much simpler.

"Let us get down to business then." Pein continued, placing his cup down. "Our plans draw near to completion. Soon we will hold the world in our hands and I will build it anew…as I see fit."

Sakura shifted uncomfortably.

"You, one of the elite that I have chosen, will rule over the world that I create. That is, if you choose to remain loyal."

She said nothing, because something inside of her was writhing and twisting in her stomach, making a sour taste enter her mouth.

"Your family in Konoha…I suppose I will spare them if that is what you wish. You may hold that domain."

"I am no one's ruler." Sakura whispered.

Pein merely smiled patiently. "Of course not."

They fell into tense, uncomfortable silence for a while before Pein spoke again.

"I called you here because I need to test your loyalty, Sakura. You hold too much love for your old village and those you deem…_precious_ to you."

Sakura's eyes narrowed a bit. "And?"

"You must obey me, Sakura. I am a god and I cannot be disobeyed. I think you have yet to grasp that."

Sakura bit back her retort.

Pein must have seen it in her eyes though, for his own narrowed dangerously and the temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.

"I will not stand for insubordination. This world must be purged…" He laced his fingers together and rested his chin on them. "and to do that…the tailed beasts must be released."

"…you cannot be serious." Sakura whispered. "You can't release them! Innocent people would die!"

"Ah." Pein chuckled. "That is where you are wrong. You see…with the aid of an ally of mine…the demons will be controlled. But that is why I need to test your loyalty."

"Excuse me?"

"Leaders deceive their subordinates all the time, you knew that correct?"

"Of course. It's politics." Sakura began warily. "You can't tell a subordinate everything you do."

Pein nodded. "Then you understand that some things must be sacrificed for the better good of all as well?"

Sakura nodded slowly. "I would suppose it depended on the sacrifice."

"Nothing is too large a sacrifice for peace," Came Pein's reply.

"Peace cannot be gained through bloodshed." Sakura retorted, her tone just as cold as his.

Pein's smile merely became more sinister. "What if I were to tell you that I plan on killing all of the Akatsuki after I gain power?"

"You wouldn't." Sakura said back, almost too hastily.

"But I just told you that leaders lie to their underlings and you agreed with me. And sacrifices must be made for the greater good, correct?"

Sakura gripped the sides of her chair tightly. "Even you would not deceive your subordinates like that. To lie to them and then kill them when they have lost their usefulness. It isn't very _godlike_."

"I'm sure that you were taught Sun Tzu's philosophies at your ninja academy, weren't you?" Pein asked calmly, still giving a soft smile.

Sakura nodded slowly, "Yes, we were."

"Then you should remember his words clearly. You seem like the type who would memorize such things."

"What is your point, Leader-sama?" Surely this was not what he had called her in to discuss?

"His most important line…the one you seem so unable to grasp, even after you've followed it for so many years." Pein said casually, leaning back comfortable in his chair. The chess board stood between them, the pieces all lined up neatly on their opposing sides.

"'_All warfare is based on deception'_." Pein recited. _"'Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.'_"

Sakura slowly looked down at the chess board. She remembered learning those lines long ago. They were the basis of Shinobi life. And Pein had taken Sun Tzu's words to heart, hadn't he?

"_'Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.'_" Pein continued his gaze never leaving hers.

"Then you should remember his other words well." Sakura spoke calmly, although on the inside her stomach rolled with nervousness. There was something off about this conversation. Something that told her she needed to leave as soon as possible, _"'if he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him.' _Konoha and the other shinobi nations are stronger in military power than Rain and the Akatsuki."

Pein's smirk grew, as if he were enjoying this meaningless philosophical banter, _"'If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.'_"

_"'If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them.'_"

_"'Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected_."

_"'It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.'_" Pein said casually. "I have faced loss. My country was torn apart by war. It is my duty to fix these…_mistakes_ that the other Nations have made."

"So you plan on destroying everything?" Sakura whispered vehemently. "You wish to rule over a land of dust and corpses?"

"Some sacrifices must be made." Pein answered back readily, his gaze cold. "But as Sun Tzu said: _In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them."_

Sakura gave a nod. "But you are outnumbered by the great shinobi nations. Extremely outnumbered." Sakura argued.

Pein nodded solemnly as she spoke, his gaze hard. "And what is your point, Haruno?"

"If we are going to quote Sun Tzu, I might as well, add in some of his lines that contradict your strategies." She stood a little straighter, with a small smile on her face. _"'If equally matched, we can offer battle; if slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy; if quite unequal in every way, we can flee from him. Hence, though an obstinate fight may be made by a small force, in the end it must be captured by the larger force.'_"

Pein's smile widened, a malicious smile as he leaned back further in his chair, lacing his fingers together in front of him. "_'He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.'_ I have kept the Akatsuki from making blatant enemies of many of the shinobi nations for this purpose only."

Sakura remained silent, her sense of unease growing by the minute.

"'_He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces. He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared. He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign'_. That is why I do not belong to a village, Haruno. I am not obligated to follow the laws of some daimyo, or to listen to the warnings of a pathetic shinobi council."

His eyes were glowing softly, and Sakura felt her blood chill a bit as she swallowed, trying to wet her dry throat. She wanted to shrink back into her chair, to be swallowed up by it. She had never felt so pathetic, small, and helpless before.

Pein merely smiled maliciously, continuing. "Have you ever heard the saying: _If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle'_?"

Sakura was silent.

"Tell me Haruno…what do you know? Do you know anything about me? Or about the rest of the Akatsuki? The rest of Konoha? You do not even understand _yourself_…and that is why I will win."

"Why?" She croaked out.

"Because I know everything." He said simply, and it was said with such confidence that Sakura believed that it was probably true.

"You once asked me what piece I believed you were…" Pein smirked, leaning over the chess set to look at her. "You said a pawn, and that is very, very wrong, Haruno."

Sakura looked at him, confused. He merely picked up a piece, holding it up to the faint light for inspection.

"You're the king, the most important piece on the board." Pein gave a dark laugh. "A weak piece, of course. One with so very few moves. One that is so easily manipulated, even when they believe they have the strength to decide their own fate."

Sakura's eyes widened a bit, before they narrowed in anger. "What are you talking about?"

"From the beginning I have been planning this." Pein sat down in his own seat once more. "I sent Itachi and the others to attack your ANBU team three years ago for the sole purpose of having Itachi lay eyes on you."

"…what?"

"I always look at the big picture, Haruno." Pein laughed darkly. "And that is why I will be victorious. A single thread is merely a part of the great design. A design I've been weaving ever since your string was added to the tapestry."

"all…all this time…"

"Hai." Pein's smile grew. "The entire time."

* * *

**(A\N: hehehehehehe, yes, evil cliffhanger…:D Sorry but I **_**HAD**_** to do it…Pein's intentions are finally being revealed--evil, tricky bastard that he is! The next chapter…well, it'll be fun. That's all I can say. :D Of course, fun does not necessarily mean HAPPY…:P So, who else found Konan's talk with Mikomi a bit disconcerting? It almost seems as if she were trying to help Mikomi against Pein's wishes, ne? –looks around innocently-perhaps she isn't as bad as everyone thinks…**_**perhaps**_**…**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**

* * *


	7. Chapter 6: Choosing Sides

**(A\N: Sorry it took so long to get this to you…I got pretty sick for a day or two and slept most of the time but I am good now and I also have finished most of my important exams so... :D I hope you all enjoy!)**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**Choosing Sides**

* * *

_"From the beginning I have been planning this." Pein sat down in his own seat once more. "I sent Itachi and the others to attack your ANBU team three years ago for the sole purpose of having Itachi lay eyes on you."_

_"…what?"_

_"I always look at the big picture, Haruno." Pein laughed darkly. "And that is why I will be victorious. A single thread is merely a part of the great design. A design I've been weaving ever since your string was added to the tapestry."_

_"all…all this time…"_

_"Hai." Pein's smile grew. "The entire time."_

* * *

_The entire time…he's been planning all of this…but why? Why would he do this?_

_An Uchiha…he said Madara…_and Sakura's eyes widened as she remembered the conversation she'd had with the Kyuubi long ago.

"_Yes…yes I suppose that is true, little bitch. I remember those eyes." The Kyuubi chuckled. "Almost as powerful as Madara's, you know. But nothing can be that powerful…well…I suppose his eyes are a bit weakened these days…yes…a fraction of what they used to be. So your Leader would be stronger then he is now, I suppose."_

"_What do you mean? Madara is dead." Sakura's eyes narrowed._

"_Is he?" The Kyuubi taunted, laughing darkly. His breath rushed past her, foul and rank._

"_What do you know of Uchiha Madara?" Sakura demanded._

"_Only what you know of him…" He gave a roll of his shoulders that Sakura guessed was a shrug. "No…I suppose that isn't true…I do know a bit more than you do. He's still alive…and very close to you…"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_You've spoken with him several times...well, perhaps not with him personally, you'd remember that after all." The Kyuubi let out a loud guffaw. "This is too rich…you're so dense, little bitch. You mean you haven't noticed it at all?"_

"_What are you talking about?" Sakura yelled. "Tell me!" She grabbed the bars of his cage, feeling the Kyuubi's chakra burn into her hands. She ignored it as she glared up at him._

_An Uchiha…an Uchiha…_Sakura paled.

_Obito…_

…_Tobi._

"So you've figured it out. He needs a body, Sakura." Pein laughed darkly, eyes glinting as he watched her. "And your daughter's is perfect."

She did the only thing she could do at the moment, as unworldly fury filled her at the prospect of someone harming her daughter.

She attacked.

Her kunai slammed into his shoulder as they went down and she gasped as pain erupted in her side and the man that had fallen beneath her disappeared into a muddy mess on the floor. _Earth clone, _she thought angrily as she leapt up and growled out, positioned into a fighting crouch.

"Don't make this anymore difficult than you have to, Sakura."

Her eyes tried to find him but it was useless. Even with the Sharingan she could not see him, only the ever invading darkness of the room.

"If you touch her I will kill you."

He chuckled, and she heard a soft 'tk' and turned to see the queen on the chess board move a step closer towards the opposing side's king. She put up her guard just in time as three kunai shot towards her. She blocked them with her own weapon and began hand signs, blowing fire in the direction she believed the attack had come from.

Tk.

_Fuck!_ Another chess move and she was slammed against the wall. She gasped out as the pain in her side erupted again—had he stabbed her earlier? She hadn't thought to check—and she coughed up blood.

"It's a shame, Sakura…" Pein drawled into her ear. "You are most loyal; to a fault I'm afraid. If only that loyalty had been mine."

"…fuck…you…" Sakura hissed.

"Don't you see, Sakura? You're the only one who is trying to stop me, the only one trying to keep me from enacting my plans."

"What do you mean?" _Stall for time. Try and find an escape route while he's talking!  
_

"The other Akatsuki members of course…you didn't _really_ think that they would side with you if it came down to choosing, did you? They belong to _me_. They are merely…pieces in a chess game, remember?" And he leaned in closer, the cold metal of his lip piercing brushing against her throat.

"Sakura…don't you see? You've been the only one in ignorance. You're a tool who has been used until it has become dull. If you come with me I can sharpen you and make you useful again. But if you defy me—if you defy a _god_—then I will destroy you."

_Itachi…all this time he…he knew? He was using me to gain Mikomi? To use his own daughter as a tool?_

_A LIE! It must be a lie!_

_Please…please let it be a lie…_

_NO ONE WILL TOUCH MY DAUGHTER!  
_

Her eyes burned with fury and the Sharingan as she let out a battle cry and managed to wrench herself from his grasp. Her feet moved before her mind could direct her and she crashed through the door of his room. She slammed into a warm body and gasped as they both fell to the floor.

"K-Konan-san." Sakura coughed again, putting a hand to her mouth to catch the blood as she rolled away from her and dragged herself to her feet.

Konan's eyes narrowed before they softened for a moment. "I see…so it is time?"

Sakura stared at her for a moment in shock. "You…knew…?"

Konan nodded, looking strangely sympathetic. "Sakura…you should have sided with him."

"How can you agree to this?"

"He is a god." Konan said simply, as Pein stepped through the doorway.

"He is no god."

Pein sighed. "It is useless, Konan. She does not share our vision. Eliminate her."

Konan seemed to falter for a moment, eyes flickering uncertainly. But she gazed one last time at Pein and Sakura saw a mixture of emotions glow there: awe, respect, anger, fear, remorse, and love. And finally those eyes hardened to cold sapphires as she turned to Sakura with a carefully neutral face.

"I'm sorry." She sounded like she meant it.

Sakura flipped backwards even as the paper shot at her, several pieces slicing through the wall she had been previously standing in front of. One of the pieces sliced into her arm and she hissed, still clutching her stomach that was bleeding heavily. _Can't they hear me? Why hasn't anyone come to help?_

…_because they do not care. This has been the plan all along._

_**Kill them all.**_

Sakura growled as she ducked another barrage of paper weapons. Left, right, left again, the hallways were endless and dark. She hadn't really thought of how far away Pein's chambers were from everyone else's till now.

_Mikomi…I'm coming Mikomi…_

She gasped, spitting up a mouthful of blood as she ran\stumbled down the hall. She placed a hand in the doorway to steady herself and it left a crimson handprint in its place as she threw the door open.

For a second she merely took everything in—it looked so perfect, so _normal_. Kisame was sitting at the table with Itachi—they were talking about something that had to do with a mission, judging by the map spread out on the table in front of them. Deidara was making one of his clay birds fly around the room for Mikomi while she clapped and smiled softly, looking from him to Sasori, who was putting on a puppet show for her. Tobi was hovering behind her, and he reached out a hand to ruffle her hair.

It didn't last long, however—it was only a second behind the smell of blood reached everyone's noses and the door slammed against the wall as Sakura threw it open. Sakura lunged forward, grabbing Mikomi. "Don't you dare touch my child!" She screamed, eyes glinting red with the Sharingan as she glared at Tobi.

"Don't come near me! I'll kill you if you touch her!" She continued screaming, backing up now. They were all the enemy…they all wanted to hurt her baby! She had to get herself and Mikomi out—she had to!

"What's going on, yeah?" Deidara asked confusedly, taking a step forward. Itachi had already stood.

"You're bleeding." He commented softly.

Sakura merely shook her head furiously, continuing to back up. "Don't come near me!"

"Okaasan?" Mikomi whispered in her mother's arm, her voice trembling a bit, as if she were afraid. "Why is okaasan screaming?" The blood from her mother's wound was soaking into her shirt, making it feel sticky and warm.

Sakura heard footsteps—so calm and sure—coming down the hallway. She gripped Mikomi tighter, panicking. Oh god he was coming…what was she going to do?

"T-traitors…" Sakura hissed, even as her eyes darted around the room and she edged away from the door that led to the hallway. An escape, she had to find an escape! Her panic and worry for her daughter's safety was still keeping the pain of betrayal away, even as she looked into Itachi's confused, dark eyes.

"Hey kitten, what on earth are you—" Kisame began, but was cut off as Sakura growled.

"Don't play stupid with me! You knew, you all knew! You were all just using me—you want to use _her_! I won't let you! She's my daughter and you won't touch her! I won't let you hurt her!"

"Uchiha-san," Sasori began, using her newly acquired surname. "Please calm down. What is going on and why are you bleeding?"

"Don't give me that bullshit, Sasori. You, of all people, know what is going on." Sakura snapped, and Sasori's eyes flickered a bit in recognition.

"Oh." Was all he said, and something glimmered in his eyes—regret perhaps?

"_Oh_? What do you mean by that, yeah?" Deidara turned to Sasori. "What the hell is going on?"

"You know! How could you _not_ know?" Sakura asked angrily, even as Mikomi began squirming in her arms.

"Mommy, mommy, I'm scared. I wanna go to otousan!" Mikomi cried softly—Sakura had never seen her little girl so distraught.

"You can't. You can't go to otousan." Sakura murmured back—and it broke her heart to say those words, even as they left her mouth. She saw something akin to anger and pain flicker through Itachi's usually emotionless gaze, as well as confusion.

"What is going on?"

Sakura opened her mouth to answer, but the door opened and she froze, paling. He swept in with all the grandeur and grace of a king—she should have expected that really. Behind him was Konan, demeanor cold and unfeeling as she eyed Sakura and Mikomi.

"You must calm yourself, Sakura." Pein said with a smile. "If you give her to me now I will make your death quick and painless, even after you have defied and attacked me."

Sakura merely held Mikomi tighter. "Go to hell!"

Pein's eyes darkened in anger.

"What is going on?" Itachi stepped forward. What did Pein want? It must have something to do with Sakura and Mikomi, and Itachi's eyes narrowed as he finally surmised what had made Sakura's wounds. She must have attacked Pein and he had hurt her.

_The bastard will die._

"Give me the child, Sakura."

"No!" Sakura screamed back. "Stay away from my baby! She won't be your fucking vessel!"

Silence reigned, as Deidara, Kisame, and Itachi turned to Pein in surprise. Tobi was uncharacteristically quiet, and Sasori's face was one of pained acceptance.

"Vessel, yeah?" Deidara choked out. "What…?"

"He's had it planned all along." Sakura choked out. "To use Mikomi…to use her as Madara's new body." She looked to Tobi and pure hatred twisted her face. "You fucking bastard. I'll rip your arms off if you even _think_ of touching my daughter!"

A slow, dark chuckle issued from behind Tobi's mask, making everyone turn to him.

"Is that so, little bitch?"

"Tobi, yeah?" Deidara continued weakly, looking thoroughly confused.

Tobi merely gave another low laugh, "You were all such fools…you fell for the trap perfectly."

"M-mommy?" Mikomi whispered fearfully.

_Itachi didn't know…he didn't know…neither did Deidara or Kisame by the looks of it…could it be…will they protect Mikomi? Who will they choose?_ Sakura thought desperately, even as she edged towards the window, Mikomi in her arms.

"I suppose we'll have to explain it to you, since you all look so utterly perplexed." Pein's smile was dark and sinister. He looked to the redheaded puppet master. "Sasori…since you have been so important for this outcome, why don't you explain?"

Everyone slowly turned to Sasori, who was looking at none of them, his face darkened and a bit troubled, even as he smoothed his features to become normal and calm. "It began when Leader-sama asked me if I knew of anyone that Uchiha Itachi was physically attracted to. He needed an Uchiha child, he said…so that Madara Uchiha could take the child's body."

"….y-you've got to be kidding, yeah." Deidara whispered.

"I can only take the body of an Uchiha." Tobi began, before motioning down to his own body. "And this one that I found…it was so weak. It still is. I found it broken and fallen underneath some rocks in Stone. But it was an Uchiha…and that's what I needed."

"Why couldn't you take over Itachi?" Kisame finally asked, his voice strangely calm. Sakura would have laughed at the absurdity of it all if she could. Here they were, standing in a kitchen as she bled to death, merely waiting for one of them to kill her and try and take her child.

"His will was too strong. I need a weak one, a malleable one…but one who is also the perfect vessel." Tobi shrugged. "And so, what better way than taking over an Uchiha child? Their minds are not strong enough to fight back. All we needed was the perfect Uchiha…" He turned to look at Sakura and she could envision the cruel smile curling his lips from beneath his mask. "…and that is where you came in my dear."

"I remembered the time I first fought with Sakura." Sasori began. "She and others had come to rescue the Shukaku vessel. Itachi and Kisame were sent using the body switching justu to kill the shinobi, or at least stall them for the time it took to complete the extraction. I noticed…Itachi's interest in the young pink-haired kunoichi on the team."

Sakura blinked. He had noticed her then? Back then she had known nothing of him, save for the fact that he had destroyed Sasuke's life—and in turn her own.

"I knew it was at least base physical attraction, or perhaps he was intrigued with the way his genjutsu did not have any effect on her. I do not know. I merely commented on this to Leader-sama."

Sakura wondered how Sasori could remain so calm and indifferent when talking about this. Her eyes flickered to Itachi's, but his gaze was unreadable, save for anger boiling in their crimson depths. This entire time…Pein had merely been planning their lives? If it had been anyone else that Itachi had seen…anyone else…and she never would have found him…Mikomi would never exist. None of this would have ever happened.

"Don't you see?" Tobi laughed. "From the beginning we have been planning this! We put Itachi on that mission knowing that Sakura's Anbu team would be near. We knew that he would not kill her and would bring her back."

"It was most unfortunate that you used your genesis of rebirth technique, Sakura." Pein continued where Tobi left off. "I had to come up with a new jutsu to realign your chakra signatures. It was…irksome."

_So that was it…that's how I was able to have Mikomi. The day that he used that jutsu on me…THAT was what it did?_ Sakura thought numbly.

"You mean…you've…you've been using Sakura and Itachi to breed your perfect Uchiha, yeah?" Deidara asked angrily. "That's…that's fucking low!"

"Calm yourself, Deidara." Sasori murmured. "This doesn't concern us."

"Like hell it doesn't!" Deidara yelled back, pointing a shaking finger at Sasori. "And you knew from the beginning! You bastard, yeah!"

"I tried to separate you, Itachi." Pein sighed, as if remembering something with annoyance. "I even gave information to that Masako woman and told her who to impersonate to drive you two apart. Everything would have been so much easier if you had not become attached."

"You…you told Masako about me?" Sakura hissed, feeling rage build up inside her—animilistic rage that she could barely contain, even as the chakra swirled in her mind—crimson and orange. "You tried to make me look like a traitor so that the others would not care if you took my child!" _I would have had Mikomi in seclusion…and you would have killed me when I refused to take her away and no one would have been any wiser about it._

Itachi's own eyes narrowed, turning the same haunting crimson as his wife's. He took a step towards her and noticed with relief that she did not back away from him. She had realized that he had no idea what had been planned for them either.

The room couldn't have been more tense. Deidara's hands clenched as he glared at Sasori. How could he have possibly trusted him? He wouldn't admit it now, but Sasori had been the closest thing Deidara'd had to a friend before Sakura had come. He was a fellow artist, someone he could talk with freely, even if they never seemed to stop arguing.

But all of that came crashing down around him and his stomach plummeted. Pein had attacked Sakura and wanted to take Mikomi as Madara's vessel. What could he do? He knew a decision had to be made, as he looked around and saw Kisame's jaw tighten and his eyes flit with indecision.

They had to choose.

Sakura and Mikomi…or Pein and Madara.

"You will not touch my daughter." And Itachi slowly pulled out a kunai, his eyes turning to the darkened Mangekyou rather than the normal Sharingan. Deidara had never heard so much fury evident in his voice. It was bone chilling, hidden beneath his usual icy monotone.

One.

"You should know, of all people, that I hate seeing anyone get used." Kisame growled out. "I am no one's puppet; I got out of that kind of work years ago when I left my village."

Two.

Deidara's eyes flickered to Sasori and knew that the red-head's mind had been made up. He would stay loyal to Leader. Hidan, Kakuzu, and Zetsu were not here, but Deidara already knew that the three of them would remain loyal to Leader as well.

At the moment it was Pein, Konan, and Madara against Sakura, Kisame, and Itachi, and Sakura was holding Mikomi. She wouldn't be able to fight. Three against two.

_Let's even the odds, yeah. No one touches Sakura-chan._

Deidara gave Sasori a hate filled glare before he took a step towards Sakura and Itachi. "There's no way I'll let you touch Mikomi, yeah."

He saw Sakura look over at him with a tentative, proud smile and something in his chest blossomed at the sight. He couldn't—and wouldn't—deny the fact that he still loved Sakura. He knew he'd lost the fight for her heart, but he swore he would never let any harm come to her or the little girl that he thought of as his own daughter.

He saw Pein's eyes darken in anger—he probably hadn't expected Kisame to join them. He must have known that Itachi and he himself would side with Sakura. But he hadn't taken into mind the fact that Kisame hated being used. That was why he had left Mist and joined the Akatsuki, where he had no one to dictate everything he had to do save for a few select missions.

Pein merely looked to Madara. "Kill them if you want."

Madara\Tobi let out a bone-chilling laugh. "This…will be _fun._ It's too bad that you did not side with me, Itachi. I could have taught you so much."

"I do not need the teachings of a watered down version of a once powerful shinobi." Itachi taunted back in his usual monotone.

Madara's one visible eye burned with the Sharingan before he disappeared. Sakura felt the chakra fluctuation and held Mikomi tighter to herself, shielding her as she waited for the oncoming blow. She opened her mouth and screamed the only thing she could think of.

"Stop it Obito!!"

Madara froze, gasping, just an inch away from Sakura, a kunai in his hand and aimed for the base of her neck. The kunai clattered to the ground as he took a shaky step backwards.

Sakura stared up at him. Obito was still alive inside of Madara somewhere, and he knew that Sakura and the others needed his protection.

"Nngh…" Madara clutched his head, taking another step backwards. His fingers wrenched at his hair, pulling it. "Tobi…god it hurts…Madarrrng…"

And then he whirled around, lunging at Pein.

It took them all by surprise as Konan stared, wide-eyed as Pein and Madara both stumbled backwards onto the ground. Sasori jumped, but they had all been distracted long enough for Kisame to grab Sakura's arm and practically throw her and Mikomi out the window.

"Let's go, yeah!" Deidara yelled as he jumped out after her, Itachi following behind.

Sasori and Konan made to leap after them but stopped at the sound of Pein's voice.

"Let them go."

Pein pushed Madara off of him carelessly, visage annoyed as he sat up. Madara was panting heavily, before his body went slack and he gave a growl.

"That idiot has more willpower than I gave him credit." Madara admonished, and his tone was mockingly obeisant, making Pein's eyes narrow even more. "I hope he didn't _harm_ you."

"See to your own wounds." Pein commented coldly, ignoring the bruises on his neck from where Madara had begun to strangle him. He certainly hadn't been ready for that, but it was a trivial matter.

Madara gave a harsh laugh and ignored the searing pain in his arm.

"Bring her back." Pein ordered as he stood. "I must gather the other members."

Madara nodded with a sadistic grin hidden beneath his mask before he disappeared in a gust of wind.

Sasori watched all of this with saddened eyes.

_You should have given up the child, Sakura. Everything would have been so much easier._

* * *

Kakashi gave a soft sigh, leaning against a tree trunk. He'd already scouted the entire area and read his Icha Icha book. And it wasn't as if Atsuko was any good for conversation at the moment. He was currently sitting in the same place he'd been sitting in since he'd begun playing. The notes were infinitly softer now, almost below hearing level. But Kakashi could see Atsuko take in small breaths and his fingers moved along the panpipes' holes.

Kakashi hadn't known anyone could play for that long. But then again he'd always known Atsuko had amazing stamina. It was one of the reasons he had become a Chunin so quickly. That, and the genjutsu that he was so proud of, some of which he said had been known by one of the original Sound Four.

But the fact that it was an amazing feat of chakra control and endurance didn't make it any less boring to watch. The small song he played was rather repetitive, since he had to use the same notes to keep the chakra flow steady. Kakashi had already memorized the little tune and swore that if anyone so much as whistled it in his presence after this was finished he would shove his raikiri down their throat.

Kakashi gave another frustrated sigh. _He_ should have been the one inside, looking for Jiraiya. This was unbearable. At least he'd gotten some reprieve when a scouting team of Rain-nin had stumbled upon them. In fact, Kakashi was currently nursing a large gash on his left shoulder. But the pain was minimal, after he'd rubbed a bit of a balm that Hinata had made into it.

_Sakura…_Kakashi looked up at the veil of rain and briefly wished he had been given the Byakugan instead of the Sharingan. Then, at least, he would have been able to look through the rain and perhaps glimpsed his student. He realized that was the real reason why he didn't want to be stuck here guarding Atsuko. He wanted to get the chance to see her…

In fact, out of all of them there, he and Atsuko were probably the ones who wished to see her the most—except for Hinata of course. It was rather ironic that the two of them were stuck here outside, waiting for the others to return.

Suddenly an irregular movement caught his eye: Atsuko's fingers had tightened on his panpipes and his brow was furrowed as his notes became louder.

That was when Shikamaru walked out of the water. Anko came a second behind him, steadying a tired looking Jiraiya. Hinata came a second later. The moment she was out of the veil of rain Atsuko stopped playing and put his panpipes back in their holder with a sigh of relief.

Hinata's face was glowing with happiness as she looked to Atsuko and Kakashi. "We saw her!"

"Who?" Kakashi asked.

"Sakura!"

Atsuko shot out of his sitting position. "You saw Sakura-sama? Is she well? What of her daughter? Did she looked happy? Why didn't she come with you?"

Anko snorted at the rapid fire questions as Kakashi walked up to her and Jiraiya.

"Sakura said that she is going to come with Mikomi for Mikomi's fourth birthday in a few months." Hinata practically squealed, eyes bright with excitement. But the light dimmed a bit and worry flitted in her violet-white eyes.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked softly.

"She…she's worried that we are all in grave danger."

"All of Konoha is in danger." Shikamaru filled in. "Konoha needs to gather its allies in case the Akatsuki decide that we are no longer their ally."

"Then let's head home." Kakashi murmured. The others nodded slowly and Atsuko opened his mouth to speak when they heard a rushing sound as the rain veil behind them seemed to pick up speed, falling harder and faster.

"What the…?" Anko began, but was stopped as four figures burst through the rain wall, one of them carrying a small, dark-haired child in her arms.

* * *

**(A\N: Yes, yes, I KNOW it's a cliffhanger but…I thought you guys would be happy with this. :D I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time, ja ne!**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	8. Chapter 7: Katsu

**(A\N: Hiya everyone! –cowers beneath evil glares- yes, I know this chapter is very late, but unfortunately Kishimoto is causing my muse to die in various, horrifically painful ways…so yeah…also, I had some school stuff to finish up but that's ok because…I AM NOW OFFICIALLY A SENIOR! Yay for me…:D Ok…anyway, before the chapter begins, I want to tell you guys a few things…I am incorporating as much of the manga into my story as possible but still making it fit so…manga plotlines will be added but twisted for my purposes, just to let you know…like the fact that Itachi really DID save Sasuke and only killed the Uchiha Clan to protect Konoha—of course, that was part of my original idea anyway before Kishi threw it out there—so yeah…and also, this is angst for a reason…lots of people will be dying in the future, because that's life and this story tries to deal with real things as much as possible, because I think a story where everyone lives happily ever after is fake and not as appealing…anyway…enjoy now that I've gotten you all depressed and anxious, lol.)**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**Katsu**

* * *

"…are you alright, Pein?" Konan asked softly as she reached out a hand to touch the bruise on his neck. He waved her away, his gaze indifferent. Either he did not notice the hurt that flickered in her eyes or he did not care, for he merely turned to Sasori.

"This is an annoying twist in our plans."

"I am sorry." Sasori bowed. "I had thought that Kisame would side with us as well—"

"That was nothing." Pein drawled. "I knew he would side with them. He is merely another nuisance that I have long since wished to be rid of. They have no place in my perfect world…it is easier to deal with them now then when I finally remake everything."

Sasori nodded, though his face was shadowed in uneasiness at Pein's words.

"I am, however, worried with Madara's sanity." Pein continued as he sat himself down in a chair, resting one leg over the other. "The mentality of Obito is persistent. If he is to meet up with Hatake Kakashi…it will prove even more irksome."

"Madara will triumph." Sasori murmured.

"I have no doubt of that." Pein answered back. "But that is another concern…Madara wishes to rebuild the Uchiha Clan and gain revenge over Konoha for having his clan murdered. He is blinded by his own greed…people with those kinds of views are not meant for my kingdom."

Sasori blinked, even as Konan remained silently, making some tea for their Leader.

"Watch him, Sasori. I want you to follow and make sure that Madara remains loyal to me. He does not understand who is in charge here…he may be immortal, but I am a god. I will not stand insolence, especially not from him."

Sasori nodded, before standing and walking to the door.

"And Sasori?"

Sasori turned, his hand on the doorknob.

"Do not disappoint me. You are one of my most loyal. If you were to stray from this path…I would be disheartened to have to eliminate you."

Sasori merely nodded coolly before walking out the door, closing it behind him with a definite click.

"Do you believe he will betray you?" Konan finally asked as soon as Sasori's chakra signature had disappeared. She placed the cup of tea in Pein's hands, and he took a sip.

"There is a chance of it. But I do not believe he will go through with his desire. He fears death above all else."

Konan blinked in confusion. "He does?"

"He made himself into a puppet because he was afraid to grow old and die. He is a coward and he knows that I can kill him if I wish to. He will not disobey me. He craves life."

Konan merely nodded before standing from her kneeling position in front of him. "What are your orders, Leader-sama?"

"Bring me Hidan, Kakuzu, and Zetsu. They will be needed shortly if Madara fails. And also…go to Cloud and tell the Raikage that it is time. He will know what to do." Pein's eyes flickered in the half-darkness, and a cruel smirk twisted his lips.

Konan watched him warily, and wondered how the young boy she had loved so much could have become this man.

"Very well."

* * *

"Sakura-sama!" Atsuko gasped out as he ran forward, recognizing her instantly. She stumbled forward a few more steps before she placed the child in her arms down onto the ground.

"I need to heal, Miko-chan…go to your father."

Mikomi nodded silently before lifting up her arms to Itachi, who picked her up easily. Sakura placed a glowing hand to her stomach as Kisame and Deidara stood behind them, facing the wall of rain as if to guard from whatever tried to come out behind them.

"Sakura." Kakashi whispered as he too walked towards her. The others followed silently, and Hinata hurriedly rushed over to her friend's side. Itachi stiffened as they neared, and only Sakura's hand on his arm made him relax.

She looked up at them with a tired smile as she wiped a line of blood from her chin. "Hi guys."

"Sakura-sama!" Atsuko lunged forward and grabbed her in a tight hug, causing her to grunt a little as her stomach twinged in pain. She'd healed the wound but it was still sore.

"Let go of my mother."

Atsuko blinked as he and the others turned to look at the little girl in Itachi's arms for the first time—and gasped. She looked like a female version of Itachi, but she had Sakura's eyes and full lips. She was glaring at Atsuko, her face otherwise emotionless.

"Sakura…is this Mikomi?" Hinata asked, staring at the little girl in wonder. Sakura merely nodded, "I'd love to stay and introduce you to her but we have to go _now_." The urgency in her voice did not go unnoticed by the others.

"What's wrong Sakura?" Kakashi finally asked. "Who did this to you?"

"No time, yeah!" Deidara growled as he took a step back from the rain, feeling a dark chakra signature coming towards them. "He's almost here! He would have sensed our chakra signatures when we went through the rain, yeah."

"Damn." Kisame grunted, shouldering Samehada. "We gotta go kitten."

Sakura nodded before turning to the confused Konoha shinobi. "We have to get going. Uchiha Madara is after us. The Akatsuki want to destroy Konoha."

* * *

Madara landed on the ground of the clearing, walking towards the chakra signature he felt there. It was Sakura's, he could recognize her signature anywhere. But where were the others? It seemed strange she would stay all alone.

_A trap?_ He thought as he ducked into the roots of the tree. His eyes narrowed, before a cruel sneer twisted his lips. _…a genjutsu…_the inside of the tree was a small room, which looked as if it had been recently used.

Madara's nose wrinked in disgust. _It smells like toads. It seems that we have more company than we thought…_

He left the tree as quickly as he had come, memorizing the feel of the chakras he had sensed inside of it. One was Jiraiya, he knew that, and he knew Mikomi's as well. The others were a bit harder to place, but he knew they were Konoha-nin. Their chakra always felt different than other shinobi's.

_The traitors and four little Konoha shinobi…this will be fun, _He thought with a low chuckle as he jumped onto the nearest tree before running through the forest towards Rain's border.

He would make sure that whoever stood in the way of him and his vessel would die slowly. He would have his revenge…and to do so he needed Mikomi's body.

He was a little disappointed in Itachi. The boy had been the perfect choice for a body. If only he had been loyal to Madara…instead of that damned village of his.

_"I'm asking for your help." Thirteen-year-old Itachi stood in the darkened forest, looking up at the dark-cloaked man in front of him. "You said you wished to bring down Konoha…but I cannot let you do that. But I cannot defeat the Uchiha Clan alone."_

_Madara snorted as he looked at the boy's impassive face. The child was calm, but on the inside Madara knew that the boy was frightened and a little ashamed at asking for help. _

_"What will you give me in return?"_

_Itachi blinked. "What do you want?"  
_

_"I need a vessel."_

_Itachi's hands clenched. "Very well. When I have completed what I must do…you may take my body."_

_"What of you brother?"_

_Itachi's eyes flashed. "What about him?"_

_"What if I want to take Sasuke as my vessel?" Madara drawled._

_"No."_

_Madara chuckled at the cold fury in the young boy's voice. "So vicious…" He merely pushed himself off of the tree he'd been leaning against and walked towards Itachi. He palced a hand on the boy's shoulder, feeling the muscles there tense, ready to attack if necessary._

_"Very well…I will help you kill the clan…and in turn, when you have finished what you set out to do…I will take your body." _

But Itachi had not fulfilled his promise. Madara had followed him into the Akatsuki. Itachi had been suspicious of 'Tobi' but had said nothing, wisely keeping his mouth shut. He had suspected he was Madara…but it did not matter. He should have taken his chance and killed him when he'd been able to do so. Because now…Itachi was nothing but a failure.

He had gone and fallen for the pink-haired bitch apprentice of the Godaime Hokage. His brother's _teammate_. It was rather ironic, that the weakest member of the team could attract the attention of one of the most powerful shinobi in existence.

But it was a small matter…because soon Madara would gain a power greater than Itachi or Sasuke. He would have Uchiha Mikomi…and with her he could make the Uchiha Clan the greatest and most powerful clan that ever lived. He would defeat Pein and any other who opposed him.

He would crush the last living descendent of the Senju Clan—that damned blonde bitch—and he would be happy. He would watch as her skull shattered beneath his foot and her brains splattered on the ground. He would enjoy it immensely. No one could take that away from him.

But it seemed his current vessel was a problem he had overlooked. The foolish child had been so weak and afraid in the beginning. But when he had realized what was happening…he had fought. Madara had suppressed him easily, but it seemed that the child had merely been gathering his power for an attack. He had broken free twice in the past two years. Once when in Konoha, when Hatake Kakashi had been in danger. And then when he had stopped Madara from killing Sakura…

Yes, he would need to keep an eye on his troublesome vessel. He had thought that with the creation of a third mindset, Obito would be silent. Tobi was, after all, a compilation of Obito's younger naivete and childishness. He was the perfect disguise and Madara had used it to his advantage many a time. Most of the time he even let Tobi run rampant while he rested in the back of Obito's mind. Tobi would not fail him. He was a blind and loyal little thing.

But Obito…

Madara's eyes narrowed.

Obito and Itachi were proving to be the most annoying Uchihas he had ever known.

* * *

_Fuck, _Anko kept repeating that one word as they rushed through the trees. She was at the head with Hinata and Atsuko, even though the young Chunin didn't seem too pleased to be with her and Hinata rather than with his Sakura-sama. It was their job to keep them all in the right direction. But it didn't really matter, in her mind. Because after what Sakura and her Akatsuki buddies had told them…they were all screwed.

_We'll all die. There's no way any of us are getting out alive. _Anko hated to admit she was scared because things rarely scared her. Hell, she had been Orochimaru's _apprentice._ She'd come out sick and twisted and apathetic to just about everything. Nothing fazed her and _definitely_ nothing scared her because she had never been afraid of death before. She had always known she'd find a way to beat death back. That was her goal, to die alone in bed one night in her sleep.

But Uchiha Madara was after them. THE Uchiha Madara. Head of the Uchiha Clan…they were all uncontrollably, incomparably screwed.

"How far till we're in the Land of Fire?" Kakashi called from behind her. He was running with Sakura and Shikamaru just behind them. Sakura had healed his arm while they'd been running—something Anko thought was pretty impressive, even if she wouldn't say so.

"A few more miles! Maybe we'll meet an Anbu team a few more miles in!" Anko bellowed back, trying to make her voice heard against the rushing wind. It was probably going to storm. Even the weather seemed to be working against them.

_Damn it all to hell, _Anko cursed silently. Her gaze flickered backwards to where the Uchiha traitor was running just behind Sakura, Jiraiya at his side, his gaze never leaving the dark-haired bundle in his arms.

Anko had to admit, it was hard not to stare at the little child. She held herself like a shinobi already, and she seemed to be only three or so. She looked like a miniature Uchiha alright, except for her eyes. She had the Haruno girl's eyes. But she definitely had her father's personality. She was stoic and she had yet to speak to them except for her earlier order at Atsuko to let her mother go. She was covered in her mother's blood yet she didn't seem fazed by it.

_Damn Uchiha's…_Anko thought wryly, a small grin tugging at her lips. She wondered how _Sasuke_ would take to seeing his little niece for the first time. She made a mental note to be there when it happened. The look on his face would be priceless.

"Sakura-chan!"

Anko frowned as she heard the blonde Akatsuki member call to Sakura.

"What is it, Deidara?" Sakura called back to where he and the blue-skinned one—Kisame Hoshigake, that was his name—made up their rear guard.

"We aren't going to make it to Konoha in time, yeah! He's gaining on us."

Anko felt her throat go dry and she swallowed to wet it. _Oh god…he's coming…_They'd all felt the ominous chakra trailing behind them since the beginning, but now she could almost _taste_ it. It was larger than anything she had ever felt before. But not only was it powerful it was…compressed. Concentrated. Perfectly controlled.

"We need to split up."

Anko almost skidded to a halt at the sound of the Uchiha's voice. It was the same monotone she remembered from before, and he sounded casual and calm, as if they were merely discussing the weather.

"Itachi's right."Jiraiya nodded. "If we split into two groups we'll have a better chance of one of them getting reinforcements to aid the other."

"A-and it'll take Madara a few moments to decide which group to go after." Hinata chimed in.

Shikamaru gave a grunt. "Alright. We need two groups then."

"Miko-chan," Sakura called softly to her daughter. "I need you to go with Hinata, ok?"

"No." Mikomi said softly. "I'm not going without okaasan or otousan."

Sakura sighed. "Itachi, go with—"

"No."

Sakura's eyebrow twitched a bit and she frowned in frustration as she sighed. "Very well…Kisame, you go with the Konoha group. Your chakra is larger than ours, so it will hopefully throw Madara off."

Kisame nodded.

Sakura looked back at Deidara but merely shook her head. She knew he wouldn't go with the others even if she ordered him to.

"I'll go with your group. If we meet any Anbu they will attack you unless I'm with you." Kakashi murmured, sending a look to Atsuko that told him to stay quiet and not protest. The younger boy did so with a glare.

Itachi's gaze met his for a moment and neither blinked, before Itachi finally nodded. "Very well."

"Sakura." Shikamaru murmured. "Your group should head east, take the old Anbu route to the gates. Our group will take the west route. If you see any Anbu, tell them about the situation."

Sakura smiled softly. "Don't worry. We'll meet you guys back in Konoha."

Shikamaru nodded, "Yeah, see ya there."

The two groups split.

* * *

"I can see the gates!" Hinata yelled back to the others, her voice raspy and dry. She was out of breath, and landed on a tree branch, slumping into a sitting position.

"Come on Hinata, we're almost there." Shikamaru grunted, landing beside her.

"God we've been running for forever…" Anko groaned, slumping down beside Hinata, leaning against the tree's trunk. Jiraiya, Kisame, and Atsuko stood on the tree beside them.

"We aren't being followed…" Hinata murmured. "Do you think the other group is ok?"

"I'm sure they're fine. Check to see if they're at the gates." Shikamaru ordered. Hinata nodded, activating her Byakugan and surveying the forest ahead of them. She shook her head, brow furrowing in worry. "I can't see them…"

"You don't think…?" Atsuko began fearfully, but was cut off as Kisame snapped at him.

"Look, they wouldn't get themselves killed, ok kid? They're capable of getting away from him if they have to." But his voice lacked conviction, hand tightening around Samehada as he looked out through the trees.

They'd been running for what seemed like days. They knew it wasn't that long, but it had seemed like it. And throughout their flight they hadn't seen one Anbu squad. None of them could really decide if that was a good or bad sign.

"Maybe he stopped chasing them." Hinata whispered hopefully.

"Or maybe they're already dead." Anko bit out. She refrained from saying anything else however, since it was hard to speak when Samehada was pressed against your throat. Kisame was glaring down at her, dark eyes narrowed in fury.

"Don't say that ever again."

Anko swallowed, but didn't flinch away from him.

"Put the sword down." Jiraiya sighed, and Kisame reluctantly assented, shouldering his weapon. Jiraiya looked over at the exhausted group and wondered how they had managed to keep running for so long.

"Maybe Madara met up with an Anbu squad and they're fighting him." Shikamaru finally spoke, as a way to break the tense, uneasy silence.

"The border to Wind is close to the east route." Jiraiya put in. "Maybe Sakura and the others decided to head there instead. The border patrols would be Sand-nin and would most likely give them aid."

"It makes sense." Hinata whispered.

"Maybe—" Atsuko began, but stopped as two figures landed in front of them, one of them holding Mikomi.

Itachi looked pale and withdrawn, his face tight and anxious for any who could see beneath his emotionless façade. Kakashi looked pensive and worried, his headband pulled up to show off his Sharingan.

Mikomi was clutching her father's cloak, tears swimming in her eyes, lip quivering. She merely clenched them shut, burying her face in his cloak and not uttering a sound. Both Itachi and Kakashi were covered in cuts.

"What…what happened?" Kisame began, taking a step forward.

"Where's Sakura-sama!" Atsuko cried out.

"Where are Sakura and Deidara, Kakashi?" Jiraiya asked, his voice calm.

Kakashi merely pinned Jiraiya with a weary stare. "…Sakura will be here shortly…"

And then an explosion was heard that shook the entire area. Hot wind blew passed them, and Hinata let out a small cry of fright.

Then the wind stopped, and silence reigned.

"What…was that…?" Anko asked, voice husky.

"…Deidara…" Kisame whispered, realization dawning.

* * *

"How long do you think we've been running, yeah?" Deidara asked as he landed on a tree branch, bracing himself before pushing off again. The only person behind him was Kakashi, with Itachi in the middle holding Mikomi and Sakura at the head.

"Since we split up? At least seven hours." Kakashi grunted.

"I can't feel Madara's chakra anymore." Sakura called out to them. "What do you think that means?"

"Maybe he went after the other group." Kakashi shrugged.

"Maybe Leader called him back, yeah." Deidara grunted, though they all doubted it.

"The border of Wind is close by…" Sakura murmured. "Do you think we should maybe head there instead? They probably have border patrols that could give us aid."

"We could—" Kakashi was cut off as a blast of chakra hit him, sending him flying through the air. He vaguely heard Sakura scream his name. His back slammed into a tree and he let out a gasp, spitting up blood as he fell thirty feet to the ground. He landed on his shoulder, feeling it snap.

He rolled, stumbling to his feet and clutching his shoulder. Sakura landed beside him, Deidara and Itachi only a moment behind her.

"Kakashi…are you alright?" Sakura asked, placing a glowing hand to his shoulder.

"Yeah." Kakashi nodded. "What…?"

And that was when Madara stepped out of the trees and made his way towards them, Sharingan glaring from beneath his mask.

Sakura stepped in front of Itachi, shielding Mikomi from Madara's view, eyes narrowed in hatred. "Stay back, you bastard."

Deidara and Kakashi were already in battle crouches. Kakashi was holding a kunai, and Deidara had his hands in his clay pouches. Itachi had also gotten out a kunai, his Sharingan blazing. Sakura's hands were glowing green and balled into fists.

"Let's get this over with quickly." Madara drawled, pulling out a kunai and lunging. They all jumped, Itachi landing on a tree limb above them, Mikomi in his arms.

"STAY UP THERE AND PROTECT MIKOMI, ITACHI!" Sakura yelled, slamming her foot into the ground, creating a fissure. Madara leapt up, dodging it as he twisted to the side and grabbed Kakashi's leg as the other man swiped at him.

He whipped Kakashi around, slamming him into another tree before letting him fall, flipping in the air and landing on his feet once again just as Sakura charged him, fist raised. They began a heated taijutsu battle, nothing more than a flurry of kicks and punches.

"I can't hit him, dammit!" Sakura yelled out in fury. "Every time I touch him it doesn't do anything!"

"What do you mean, yeah?" Deidara asked, still molding his clay from his perch on a tree branch. Kakashi came up behind Madara and he and Sakura continued to assault him with their attacks. But Sakura was right. Every time Sakura or Kakashi hit Madara he didn't seem to feel it at all.

"Anytime now Deidara!" Sakura yelled, jumping backwards and beginning some hand signs. Kakashi followed suit, though he gathered chakra in his hands, readying to unleash his raikiri.

Two small birds slammed into Madara, erupting in an explosion that caused Sakura to slam backwards against a tree trunk even after she had braced herself.

"…is he dead, otousan?" Mikomi whispered from where she watched, safe in her father's arms.

Itachi said nothing, merely held her tighter as the smoke cleared and Madara stepped out, brushing the dust from his cloak.

"But…that was a direct hit, yeah!" Deidara yelled out in frustration.

Madara merely chuckled. "You're full of yourself. Do you really think that something that pathetic could harm me?"

"Damn…" Deidara cursed, digging his hands deeper into his pocket. It seemed that they would need more powerful explosives if this was going to work at all. Sakura's hits weren't affecting him…maybe Kakashi's jutsu could.

Kakashi lunged right at that time, his hand crackling with energy. Sakura followed his movements, right on his tail, her own hand filling with white-hot chakra. _Like teacher, like student, yeah. _Deidara thought wryly as he watched the two move in synch.

Madara didn't move, merely gave a loud laugh as Kakashi's hand slammed into his stomach. Kakashi growled, feeling no resistance as his entire arm merely passed through Madara. Madara grabbed him, shielding his own body with Kakashi's as Sakura lunged forward with her own raikiri.

She let out a hoarse yell, vaulting upwards and flipping over the two of them, her raikiri dissipating. Before she hit the ground her body began dissolving into a multitude of leaves.

Madara kicked Kakashi away from him, and the other man landed on his feet, pulling out another kunai from his pack in one smooth motion.

Madara merely looked around the clearing as the tree leaves swirled around him. "Genjutsu, hm? There's no genjutsu that my eyes cannot see, little bitch."

Her voice echoed across the clearing, "Come and find me then, Uchiha bastard."

Madara gave a low growl, before swiping the air to his right, grabbing Sakura by the throat and pinning her against a tree branch. She let out a choked gasp as he ground her back into the brittle bark.

"Good enough for you, bitch?"

Sakura merely gave him a feral grin, green eyes becoming blue, "Katsu."

Madara's eyes widened as he tried to jump backwards, just as the entire clearing erupted into flames.

Sakura gave a small gasp as she tried to sit up, pushing away rocks that had pinned her to the ground. Her left arm was sorely bruised, and her right wrist was shattered. When she'd switched places with Deidara she had still been in the vicinity of the blast. So had Kakashi…in fact, she could see him lying a few feet away. He gave a groan as he slowly got to his feet.

"That explosion was more intense than his usual ones." Kakashi grunted. "Back…" He swallowed to dry his throat as Itachi landed on the ground beside them, Mikomi still in his arms. "Back when we first fought Deidara, he made himself self destruct like that, but the explosives this time seemed much more powerful."

"Hn."

Sakura merely scanned the area before giving a startled cry as she rushed forward.

"…no…Deidara…" Sakura moaned out as she landed in front of the bleeding, panting figure crumpled on the ground.

* * *

**(A\N: Well, here ya go! Yeah, I know it's another cliffhanger but…meh…I'm already famous for 'em. :D Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it. Until next time…see ya!**

**p.s. for those of you who don't know…katsu is what Deidara says before activating his explosives…:D**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	9. Chapter 8: Bittersweet

**(A\N: Alright! I am on a role with updates! Actually I want to update as much as possible before the next manga chapter comes out and wreaks havoc on my muse again. XP. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. Now I get to go to my dentist appointment…. I'm not too fond of the dentist. I already KNOW I have a cavity, lol. So while I'm getting my teeth furiously cleaned at my checkup…enjoy the chapter!)**

* * *

If I tell you  
Will you listen?  
Will you stay?  
Will you be here forever?  
Never go away?  
Never thought things would change, hold me tight  
Please don't say again that you have to go

A bitter thought  
I had it all  
But I just let it go  
Hold your silence  
It's so violence since you're gone

All my thoughts are with you forever  
'Till the day we'll be back together  
I will be waiting for you

If I had told you  
You would've listened  
You had stayed  
You would be here forever  
Never went away

It would never have been the same  
All our time would have been in vain  
Cause you had to go

The sweetest thought  
Had it all  
Cause I did let you go  
All our moments keep me warm  
When you're gone

All my thoughts are with you forever  
'Till the day we'll be back together  
I will be waiting for you

Bittersweet by Within Temptation

* * *

_Sakura merely scanned the area before giving a startled cry as she rushed forward._

_"…no…Deidara…" Sakura moaned out as she landed in front of the bleeding, panting figure crumpled on the ground._

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**Bittersweet**

* * *

"I…" Deidara grimaced, and the blood tricked down his chin. Sakura felt her legs go out from under her as she slumped to the ground beside him, shaking. Her hands glowed green, but she knew it was useless, even as she watched the blood pour from his body.

"Don't waste your chakra, yeah." Deidara laughed, which made him wince.

Sakura grabbed his hand, holding it tightly. "…Deidara…" Her voice clogged with tears.

"Don't worry about it, yeah. I'm fine." He gave her that old grin of his and she smiled through her tears at him.

_My life energy…_Sakura's eyes widened as she realized that perhaps she could save him. He would live, even if she would die. Because the only way she could heal a wound like this one was with her own life. It was Chiyo's gift to her, so long ago. Her heart twisted at the thought of leaving her daughter behind, but she merely pressed her hands to his stomach. He grabbed her wrist and she looked down into his eyes. He gave a sardonic smile and the look in his eyes was sad, but accepting.

"Come on, Sakura-chan yeah…Mikomi needs her mother more than an uncle, right?"

Sakura took her hand off of his stomach with a small sob. He merely grasped her bloody hand tightly, a look of panic filling his eyes. "…it's cold…" He whispered.

"Dei-kun?" She whispered as she cupped his cheek with her other hand. "Do you want me to numb the pain?" There was no, "hold on Deidara while I heal you" or "just stay with me for a little longer until I have enough chakra to save you". They both knew it was hopeless.

He was dying.

"Sorry I won't get to see Miko-chan grow up." Deidara closed his eyes for a moment, before he opened them again. "She'll be a heartbreaker when she gets older, like her mother yeah." The grin was a little sardonic this time, and Sakura felt a small twinge of guilt.

She saw Deidara's eyes flicker and Sakura looked behind her to Itachi. He held Mikomi in his arms, and she was oddly quiet, her face neutral. As if she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Kakashi stood behind them, as if he felt out of place at the moment.

"Hn." Itachi knelt next to Sakura, and Deidara's eyes widened a bit as Mikomi reached out to him with her small hand.

Tears fell down Deidara's cheeks as he reached out with his own hand, and she grabbed his finger. A sad, pained smile crossed his face. Sakura wondered if maybe he was thinking of what Mikomi would have looked like if she had been _his_ daughter instead of Itachi's. But Deidara had always treated her like a daughter, loved her like one.

"Sakura…"

"Hai, Deidara?" Sakura bent down again, seeing the color draining from his face. He was getting close now.

"We need to leave, Sakura." Itachi said softly, and he and Deidara shared a glance over Sakura's head that spoke volumes. They had never gotten along, they'd always been fighting over Sakura…and yet they were so alike it was painful. They were brothers in a way no one else would understand. They'd fought and bled and killed together, and although it wasn't glamorous and kind, merely an obligation, they couldn't help but notice the bond they'd made.

"Get going." Sakura whispered. "I'll stay with him a second longer."

"Sakura—" Kakashi began.

"Just go." Sakura cut in, her voice sharp and pained. Itachi looked as if he were about to protest, but merely nodded, holding Mikomi close.

"I want to say goodbye." Mikomi whispered, and her voice trembled before she slipped out of her father's arms and leaned forward, whispering something in Deidara's ears. His own eyes widened in shock, before a pained smile lit his face.

"Love you too, Miko-chan, yeah."

Mikomi didn't cry, even though she looked like she was going to. She merely nodded, face scrunched up in an effort to remain emotionless, and held up her arms to her father. Itachi grabbed her and nodded one last time at Deidara before he disappeared with Kakashi. "Thank you…Deidara." They were the last three words he spoke to him.

Thanks for what, Sakura didn't know. She merely stared down at her dear friend.

"I…I don't know why, but the only thing I can think of right now is when Mikomi was just learning to walk, yeah." Deidara began in a gruff whisper. "She was stumbling and you were holding her hand and you were laughing—I'd never heard you laugh like that before. She was holding onto one finger with her whole hand…and then she was holding Itachi's with the other. You guys looked like such a great family, yeah. I'd never seen Itachi look so calm and at peace."

"…Deidara…"

"And then Mikomi stumbled and fell and you two panicked so bad, yeah. Your hands were already glowing with chakra but she had merely pushed you away and snapped out, "Big girl. It not hurt." I laughed and Itachi glared at me, yeah."

Sakura gave a small chuckle through her tears. "I remember…"

"She didn't even cry when you put on the antiseptic and the band-aid. She just sat there, looking at me…she didn't want to look at you two because she didn't want you guys to see her crying, yeah. But I saw it…heh." Deidara closed his eyes for a second before opening them again. "So I started making little faces at her to make her smile, yeah. And so right when you put the antiseptic on she laughed instead of cried and I'd never felt more proud in my entire life. She was such a big girl."

"That was the first time you'd seen her since she was born, right?" Sakura asked timidly, brushing sweat-dampened hair from his face.

"Yeah…It was love at first sight." He gave her a weak smile. "But then again, it was the same with her mother, yeah."

Sakura choked back a harsh sob.

"I've always…I've always wanted you to kiss me, yeah." Deidara laughed. "I know that's weird, since we've kissed before, but I was always the one who kissed you, except for that time you were drunk. And I just…I just—" He was stopped as Sakura's lips met his and his eyes widened.

Her tears drifted down her face, touching their lips. Deidara tasted their saltiness but he was still too surprised to notice much. She finally pulled away, giving a tremulous smile. "I love you." Even if it wasn't the love he wanted.

"I know, yeah." He smiled. "But it'll be our little secret, ne?"

Sakura laughed. "Hai. I won't tell anyone." She felt a sob rise in her throat but she held it down.

"I've always loved you too, yeah. But you knew that." He grinned, before he grimaced. "I think I'd like you to numb the pain now, yeah. I have some business to finish."

Sakura looked over to the shifting pile of rubble and nodded. "Alright." Her hands glowed green as they pressed to his stomach, and she saw the pained glaze in his eyes disappear. He gave her one more lopsided smile. "See you around, yeah. But not too soon, ok?"

Sakura nodded, helping him to stand. She whispered, "Deidara…I want you to have this." She pressed something into his hand and he looked down at it in wonder.

It was Mikomi's favorite toy: her little painted bird that Sasori had carved for her. "I think…" Sakura swallowed. "I think Mikomi would want you to have it."

Deidara nodded, placing it in his pocket. "I'll keep it with me, yeah." The rocks in the crater began shifting. "Go, Sakura-chan, yeah. You have to leave now."

Sakura nodded, before she pressed her lips to his forehead. "I promise you…I'll never forget." And then she was gone, and Deidara struggled to remain standing.

Sakura was running, but she stopped, breathing raggedly as she cast one last glance at Deidara, and froze. He looked so pale and defeated, weaving from side to side as he faced the pile of shifting rubble.

_Deidara…_

Deidara seemed to sense her gaze because he whirled around, blue eyes glinting dangerously.

"RUN!"

And Madara's hand burst from the rocks.

Sakura jumped backwards, startled at the harsh command, tears streaming down her face as she nodded once, beginning to run once more.

Deidara stared down at Madara's hand as the other man slowly pulled himself from the earth. He was covered in dust and blood, and there was a long crack straight down the middle of his mask. He stood, and Deidara could feel the rage emanating from his body.

"You…" Madara's voice was nothing more than a hiss—as his mask slowly crumbled to pieces, falling at his feet.

Deidara stared in surprise. He'd never seen 'Tobi's' face before. It was different than what he had expected. But even more surprising than his actual face was the way it was twisted into a visage of unadulterated fury and loathing.

"…will _die_ for this."

Deidara grinned. "You will too, yeah." He'd made this move especially for a moment like this. He had never planned to use it, but he realized that if there was ever a time to do so, it was now.

He doubted there'd be anything left in a three mile radius after this explosion.

_Sakura-chan…god…I love you so much. Just…be careful, yeah._

He grimaced, feeling cold liquid coursing through his body in place of his veins. He could digest his exploding clay, but there were other explosive that could be used as well. And this special jutsu used that to its advantage.

The nitro-glycerin would be even more explosive when amplified by his chakra.

Madara was running at him, his eyes blazing crimson.

Deidara gave a feral grin, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Let's go out with a bang, shall we yeah?"

Madara's eyes widened as he suddenly realized what was happening. Deidara wasn't supposed to have any chakra left! This was impossible! He quickly began a set of handsigns, just as Deidara gave a dark laugh.

"Katsu."

The entire area erupted in white-hot flames.

And the last thing that Deidara heard was that small whisper from the little girl he'd always wished belonged to him.

_"…I love you, Deidara-otousan."_

Then there was burning heat, before everything went black.

_Love you too, Miko-chan yeah…_

* * *

Sakura gave a gasp as the explosion hit her, sending her flying, crashing through several trees as she went. She finally slammed into a rather sturdy oak, feeling her leg snap at the odd angle of impact before she fell to the ground, shattering her ankle as she hit.

She tried to sit up, but merely gave a soft groan before falling unconscious.

* * *

The sounds of the explosion seemed to have been implanted in their brains. Even when they closed their eyes the large white-hot ball of flames that had risen from the area burned through their eyelids, searing the picture into their minds.

"Sakura-sama!" Atsuko yelled out in fright. Nothing could have survived that blast…oh god, what about his Sakura-sama?

"Damn…" Kisame hissed out, his face slightly paler than usual. "This is _not_ good. Where is she? And where the hell is Deidara, Itachi?" He turned to his once-Akatsuki partner. "That wasn't…he didn't make that did he?"

Itachi said nothing, even as Mikomi shook in his arms, trying not to cry.

"Hn."

"What the hell is going on?" Anko snapped out. "Where are Sakura and that blonde guy?"

Everyone turned to Itachi for an explanation. He said nothing, however. Kakashi was the one who spoke, his voice husky and dry.

"Sakura stayed behind for a moment to say goodbye to Deidara of the Akatsuki."

"…say goodbye…?" Hinata whispered.

"Uchiha Madara found us and ambushed us." Kakashi shrugged, and his shoulder protested the movement violently, causing him to hiss out in pain. "We fought him, but he used some kind of technique to make none of our hits get him. It reminded me…it reminded me of my Mangekyou technique."

Itachi's eyes narrowed at the name, before he looked to Kakashi for an explanation.

"I have the ability to send things to other dimensions. It's as if…as if he did that to parts of his body before they were hit. That's what I surmised anyway."

"Hn."

"I didn't think that was possible." Jiraiya grunted.

"This is so…troublesome…" Shikamaru groaned out.

"We realized that because of his ability to avoid our hits we were going to have to hit him with something large and instantaneous."

"Deidara's explosions." Anko cut in.

Kakashi nodded. "And we needed something big to take him out with one hit. But I didn't think…I didn't think he'd use something like _that_."

"What happened after that?" Shikamaru asked, eyes plastered to the site of the explosion in the trees.

"He was dying. And Madara hadn't died. He was recovering from the hit…Sakura stayed with him for a final moment while Itachi and I brought Mikomi here."

"But that blast…" Hinata whispered worriedly. "What if Sakura didn't make it? If she was injured too like you Kakashi-san…then…"

Kisame merely gave a snort. "She'll be fine. She's a fighter. She won't go down so easily. She'd never die _running away_."

"What if she stayed to fight?" Jiraiya asked.

There was a long moment of strained silence.

"She said she would come." Itachi's voice was soft but unflinching, leaving no room for argument.

Kakashi merely gave a small groan as he slumped to the ground, holding his arm. He needed to see a medic and soon. Yes…he _really_ needed to get to the hospital. The fact that he was actually thinking _fondly_ of that hell-house made him realize how desperately injured, weary, and weak he was at the moment.

But there were more important things to deal with…more pressing matters that made him try and push the pain aside.

Besides, he was still shocked over the revelation that Madara was alive…and he was using Tobi—Obito, that was really Obito—'s body as a vessel. Had…had Deidara just killed his long-lost friend? He knew that they had to do it, that if they didn't they'd die. But…he had just found Obito again. After the first time Tobi had saved him, Kakashi had waited for the off-chance that perhaps he could see him again and Obito would remember him again.

So many of his loved ones were being ripped from him…he didn't think he could survive losing Obito _twice_. But he'd have to. Because he was a shinobi and shinobi cannot let their emotions control them.

_…damn…_

The silence was almost unbearable, as they all stood at Konoha's gates. Itachi had refused to move from the spot until Sakura arrived, which caused all of the others to remain as well, of course.

"Sasuke will want to see Mikomi." Hinata whispered, but said nothing more as Itachi pinned her with a rather haughty stare as if to say, 'and what makes you think that I care?' She shivered, and decided not to speak again.

"When Sakura-sama returns, we'll need to head to the Hokage tower." Atsuko finally spoke.

"No need." Jiraiya grunted. "After that explosion, we'll have Anbu crawling all over the place. They've probably already spotted us and sent word to Naruto or he's coming to check the explosion himself. Either way…I think that Sasuke will see his niece soon enough." Sasuke was rarely ever far from Naruto, so the chances of him not coming with the Hokage were slim to none.

"Hn."

"Damn…I can't feel any chakra out there." Kisame grunted, peering out at the large dust cloud that had erupted from the treeline, mixing with acrid grey and black smoke. The smell of burnt and charred wood was growing stronger.

"Sakura-sama will be alright." Atsuko reaffirmed, as if to convince himself of his words.

"I never said she wasn't going to be alright. I just said I couldn't feel her chakra, kid." Kisame bit back.

Atsuko huffed, but said nothing more, worry dancing in his eyes as he kept them glued to the trees.

"Stop and drop your weapons!"

Everyone blinked as twelve Anbu surrounded them, weapons at the ready.

"To hell with that. No one's touching Samehada." Kisame glared, snarling. He'd had enough of people trying to control him for one day. He was grouchy as hell as it was. He didn't need little Konoha-nin in Halloween masks to tell him what to do.

"They're with us." Jiraiya intoned, sighing.

"Jiraiya-san!" One of them gasped. "You're alive!"

Jiraiya nodded. "I was er…rescued by Uchiha Mikomi over there." He nodded his head at the little girl in Itachi's arms.

At the mention of Uchiha the Anbu members stiffened, and then began murmuring amongst themselves, their masks turned to look at Mikomi.

"Ya know, it's rude to stare." Anko finally muttered, seeing the little girl grow uncomfortable. She'd already been through enough, she didn't need to deal with nosy, curious Anbu.

"Er, of course, Anko-taichou." One of them murmured. "But we've been ordered to detain all of you until Hokage-sama arrives with Uchiha-sama."

"Uchiha-_sama_?" Kisame raised an eyebrow. "_Seriously_?"

Itachi merely gave a derisive snort.

"Uchiha Sasuke is the head of Konoha security. He renewed the Police Corps after it was…" And with this the Anbu speaking sent Itachi a withering glare. "…destroyed by the Uchiha traitor."

"Fascinating." Itachi's usual monotone held a scathing tone to it, which caused the Anbu to bristle and Anko, Jiraiya, and Kisame to snicker softly.

Shikamaru sighed. "Man…this is so troublesome. I wanted to go home and get some sleep before Naruto makes me do another mission or Temari wrangles me into watching the kids…"

"Don't worry, I don't have any missions for you, Shikamaru. But your brothers-in-law have been wondering how you could leave their precious, fragile sister all alone to care for the kids by herself."

Shikamaru's gave flickered in annoyance as he gave a sigh, watching Naruto walk up to them, Sasuke at his side. Naruto was grinning, but his gaze was apprehensive and his face tense. The moment he saw Jiraiya his smile brightened.

"Pervy sage! You're alive!"

"Don't call me that you squirt." Jiraiya muttered, before reaching out and ruffling Naruto's hair.

Naruto merely grinned, before he looked over at the Akatsuki members present. "Where's…where's Sakura-chan?"

There was a strained moment of silence before Itachi spoke, shifting Mikomi in his arms. "She will be arriving shortly."

"Don't tell me Sakura is the one who made that explosion—" Naruto stopped, blinking as he finally took notice of the little girl in Itachi's arms. "Is that…" He pointed with a yell, "OH my god! It's an Itachi clone!"

…

…

…

"Dobe." Sasuke murmured, but he didn't have any other words to say as he stared at the little girl. Itachi slowly let her go and she stood beside him awkwardly, fingers uncurling as if she wanted to grab onto his cloak but decided not to.

She eyed Sasuke, her gaze curious, while he stared at her, his own gaze impassive.

No one else spoke, as if they knew the importance of this first meeting between Sasuke and his niece. She did indeed look a lot like Itachi, but she had Sakura's brilliant eyes and her face was softer than Itachi's harsh lines.

Sasuke took a few steps towards her and she stiffened, as if wanting to flee. But she stood her ground as he slowly squatted down to look her in the eye. She met his gaze fearlessly, but mostly because she was looking over his own face in amazement.

"Mikomi, this is my younger brother, Sasuke." Itachi spoke, his voice cutting through the silence. Mikomi looked from her father to Sasuke, nodding slowly.

"He's your uncle, Miko-chan!" Naruto grinned brightly, bending down to her level as well, causing the young child to eye him warily. She could understand Sasuke, but the blonde giant was too cheerful and expressive. It was…weird…

"And since I'm your mother's adoptive brother that makes me your uncle too!"

"She has enough uncles." Kisame grunted.

"Jealous?" Anko snickered, causing Kisame to send her a glare.

Mikomi merely reached backwards and grabbed her father's hand for reassurance. Too much was happening at once and she couldn't take it all in. She didn't want to think about uncles or new uncles…not when she'd just lost her favorite uncle of all.

_Deidara-otooji…_Her eyes burned at the corners, but she held the tears at bay. She had to be a big girl now.

Sasuke slowly reached out a hand to brush a lock of Mikomi's hair from her face when a voice cut through the silence.

"…I'm glad to see you're getting along."

Everyone turned to see Sakura leaning against a tree at the edge of the forest, watching them all with unfocused, haunted eyes. There was no smile to her face, and it was covered in scratches. A bone was jutting from her leg, ripping through her pants and painting them a deep maroon.

"Sakura!"

Sakura merely pitched forward, landing on her knees with a wince. Sasuke was the first at her side—Itachi couldn't run to her with Mikomi holding his hand—and picked her up in his arms, staring down at her with slight panic. "We need to get her to Ino." It was the first words he'd spoken so far.

Naruto nodded. "Sasuke, you go take her—"

"Kisame, go with her." Itachi ordered, and the shark-man nodded. He knew that the Anbu—and the Hokage—would not let him into the hospital with her at the moment. He was still looked upon with hatred, after all.

Naruto eyed him for a moment before nodding. "Alright. Kisame, you go with Sasuke to the hospital. Ino, Shizune, or Tsunade should be there."

They disappeared before anything else could be said.

Naruto swallowed as he looked over at the remaining shinobi. They were all tired and spent and covered in dirt and grime.

"…let's head back to the Hokage tower, everyone."

* * *

**(A\N: Ok, so there's the chapter. ****I hope you all like it. Yes, I know that you're all sad about Deidara, but it was necessary. Besides, I had that planned since before the end of Maelstrom—before Kishimoto killed off my Dei-kun in the manga. It was going to happen whether Kishimoto killed off Deidara or not. But there will be more of a **_**meeting**_** between Sasuke and Mikomi in the next chapter…as well as a little visit from Lord Haruno. :D I'm sure you're all interested to see how that goes.**

**p.s. The part about Madara's technique is taken straight from the manga, for those of you who haven't read that far.**

**Till next time, see ya!**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	10. Chapter 9: Konoha

**(A\N: Alrighty, sorry if this took longer than expected. There are a lot of important little things in this chapter, so look closely. :D Anyway, enjoy the chapter! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**Konoha**

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes wearily, finding it hard to do so. She felt as if she hadn't slept in a long while. Her body ached, just a little. She could hear birds chirping in the background, and sunlight was hitting her back through the thin sheet, warming it.

It felt nice.

As did the warmth pooling near her stomach. She looked down to see a mop of messy black hair and smiled softly. Mikomi was curled up at her side, arms around her waist, face pressed against Sakura's stomach.

Sakura's fingers went to her forehead and she breathed out a small sigh of relief, noticing the usual white band that she always wore there was still in place. They hadn't taken it off.

"She wanted to sleep with you."

Sakura looked up to see Itachi sitting in a chair beside the bed. His gaze was soft and contemplative, and Sakura looked down at Mikomi once more, running her fingers through her daughter's hair.

"I…" Tears threatened to spill from her eyes but she stopped them. Now was not the time for tears. Deidara would not be forgotten, and she would make sure that like Deidara, she protected Mikomi with her life. But she could not afford to mourn for him now. Later…later she would give him the proper rest he deserved.

"You're not wearing your Akatsuki cloak." Sakura finally murmured.

"Hn." Itachi shrugged, a graceful roll of his muscled shoulders, making his black shirt shift. "Kisame and I destroyed them. It didn't make sense to keep them now."

Sakura nodded as she slowly sat up, making sure she didn't wake Mikomi. "How was Mikomi while I slept?"

"Quiet."

Sakura gave a small frown, a way to hide her worry and tears. "She loved him a lot."

"Hn."

Sakura merely looked down at the hospital gown she was wearing and cringed softly. "How long did Tsunade-shishou say I needed to stay here?"

"She said you could leave when you awoke after a quick check-up."

Sakura nodded once more.

"You stayed."

Sakura blinked, looking over at him. "What do you mean?"

"You could have been killed." Itachi's voice was hard and implacable as he watched her, his eyes glinting crimson.

"Itachi…"

"It was foolish and reckless of you." He grabbed her arm, pulling her closer as he stood from the chair. Their lips met and Sakura's eyes closed, merely enjoying the feeling of his lips against hers. His tongue brushed the edges of her lips, seeking entrance. She gave it to him eagerly, her own tongue running over the roof of his mouth, her teeth tugging at his bottom lip.

One of his hands was running through her hair, the other was steadying him on the edge of the bed, a few inches away from Mikomi's head. Sakura had one of her hands fisted in his dark shirt while the other hung limply at her side.

Itachi pulled away as they both panted softly for air. He stared down into her eyes, his own gaze half-lidded. "Never do that again." His voice held a hint of frustration and anger in it, and his eyes flickered with a strange pleading.

Sakura smiled softly, lifting out a hand to touch his cheek. But he pulled back, standing straight as the door opened.

"Forehead!"

Sakura didn't have much time to think as Ino grabbed her up in a hug, mindful of the young girl sleeping beside her on the bed. "I missed you so much!" Ino's voice was clogged with tears as she held her friend tightly.

Sakura smiled softly, meeting Itachi's eyes over Ino's blonde head. He merely gave a soft grunt, leaving the room with a small turn of the door handle.

"Ino-pig, you're going to wake my daughter up." Sakura chided softly, smiling as she returned the hug.

Ino grinned sheepishly, before her gaze went to the slumbering form beside Sakura. "She's adorable, you know. She looks a lot like you."

"Thanks." Sakura laughed softly. "Most people say she looks like Itachi."

Ino shook her head. "Besides her eyes she has…well, she has your face, kind of, and those are definitely your lips! Besides…she's a lot like you too, from what I saw when she came to the hospital with Itachi to see you. She's quiet like him, but she isn't cold. She's friendly, even if she tries to pretend otherwise."

"Did she say anything? About—about Deidara?" Sakura asked, voice becoming strained at the thought of him.

Ino shook her head. "She hasn't said one word at all. Itachi even asked her some questions but she just…stiffened and looked away."

"Trauma?" Sakura asked softly.

"I think so."

Sakura nodded, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again. "How did everyone take it? I mean…seeing her." She didn't remember much, only that she somehow got to Konoha's gates and was then brought to the hospital.

"Sasuke is still in shock." Ino laughed loudly. "You should have seen his face! He never stopped looking at her. After Itachi brought her to the hospital Tsunade had to practically threaten to castrate him before he'd leave. I think Tsunade was doing it for his own safety. Itachi looked ready to kill. Probably because Sasuke was the one that carried you all the way here."

Sakura laughed softly at the image, before shaking her head. "Sasuke wasn't…mad..?"

"I think at first he was too shocked to be _anything_ and after that he just stared at her in awe. I guess…I guess she looks a lot like his mom." Ino shrugged. "I heard him whisper her name when he was looking at her."

"Oh." Sakura whispered.

"Besides…he's wanted to rebuild the Uchiha Clan for a long time, ne? He's finally getting to see the beginning of it. I'm sure he's elated." Ino's voice was a little dry this time.

"I'd think he'd hate me because it was Itachi who is rebuilding the Clan." Sakura whispered. The man who had destroyed it was the one beginning it anew. Surely that would make Sasuke bitter?

"I think he's finally realized that maybe he can't hold on to his thoughts of revenge." Ino sighed, before cracking a small grin. "He's gotten pretty mature ever since you left." She then pointed down at the small armband on her shoulder. "And looky here, I even get to be a member of Konoha's Military Police. I guess even old fan girls can become the Uchiha hotty's subordinates."

Sakura let out a laugh. "You? A policeman?"

"Hey, you make it sound like I wouldn't be able to handle it." Ino huffed, frowning, before a grin found its way back to her face. "You look awful Forehead, like you haven't eaten in days."

Sakura groaned, "The last thing I remember eating was some dango in Rain…"

"Dear god!" Ino exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how long that must have been? And it's…it's _dango_ that's not filling at all!" Ino was reverting to her 'mother hen' mode as she fussed over Sakura, still careful to keep her voice low enough that Mikomi could sleep.

"Mikomi loves dango." Sakura defended, sighing. "Listen, I need…I guess I need to see Naruto. Where did Itachi go?" She couldn't feel his chakra signature anywhere.

"Well change into these clothes first." Ino held out a packaged she'd had behind her back. "I think your husband went to go speak with the blue guy. That fish-face has been edgy ever since we brought you here—or rather, ever since he got in a fight with Gai and Lee."

Sakura stopped opening the package to stare at Ino incredulously. "He…he got into a fight with…Lee? What happened?"

"Lee and Gai had just come back from a mission and so they jumped into the Hokage's office and you know how Lee and Gai are with their 'dynamic entry'…"

"Oh god…"

"They kicked open the door and it landed on Kisame. He tried to shove his Samehada down Gai's throat and Lee was trying to attack him to defend his sensei's honor and was screaming about 'youth' and all that jazz."

Sakura let out a small giggle at the thought and stopped, feeling guilty. How could she be laughing when not long ago Deidara had _died_. She was being so…so selfish! Her smile fell and her shoulders slumped as she slowly pulled the clothes out of the package.

Ino seemed to notice her discomfort, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Sakura…you can't feel as if you have to hold everything in. It's ok to smile. I mean, you can't look sad all the time for Mikomi right? She needs you to be happy so _she'll_ be happy."

Sakura looked up at her friend with a small smile. Ino always had a way of making things better.

"Besides, with that emotionless bastard of an Uchiha as her father she needs all the happiness you can give her."

…and ruining them just as quickly.

Sakura's eye twitched a bit. "Ino-pig…that's my husband you're talking about."

Ino grinned. "I know."

Sakura was about to retort when she finally looked down at the clothing Ino had given her. There was a pair of navy shinobi slacks, which wasn't all that strange at all. But the soft grey yukata was another matter altogether.

Stitched on the back, in all its glory, was an Uchiha symbol.

"For the Uchiha matron." Ino smiled.

"Ino…"

"Sasuke was the one who suggested it."

Sakura stared down at the cloth, fingers shaking. "He…" _Sasuke…_and she couldn't help the small smile that curved upon her lips.

"Put it on, Sakura." Ino ordered. "I'll be outside. We'll head to the Hokage's office and then get some food ok?"

Sakura nodded numbly, until the sound of Ino closing the door behind her broke her from her reverie. She tugged off the hospital gown—after making sure the curtains on the window were pulled shut of course, and then slowly\tentatively\nervously, slipped on the yukata. It felt cool against her skin and for some strange reason, she felt as if more settled onto her shoulders than just the cloth.

The weight and responsibility of the Uchiha Clan, even if only just a little. She wondered idly what it would have been like to meet Itachi's parents. Would she have been able to call Mikoto 'mom'? Would they have even approved of her at all?

The blanket shifted and Sakura turned to see her daughter slowly sit up, rubbing her eyes. She was wearing a new shirt and shorts—her others had been covered in Sakura's blood after all—and her hair stuck up at odd angles.

"Good morning, Miko-chan."

Nothing.

Sakura smiled softly, before walking over to her daughter and running her fingers through her hair, combing it down. Mikomi did nothing, gaze plastered to her feet, which moved back and forth as she pumped her legs impatiently.

"It's ok Miko-chan…" Sakura whispered, gathering her daughter in her arms. Mikomi stiffened, before relaxing, and Sakura felt her shaking.

"Deidara will always live forever right here." She pressed her palm against Mikomi's heart. "So don't worry, ok? Every time you see a bird just remember…it's him sending you a nice little kiss and a 'hello Miko-chan'."

Mikomi's eyes glistened with tears, but she tried her hardest to hold them back as her shoulders shook.

"It's ok to cry, Miko-chan…I won't tell daddy ok? It'll be our little secret."

Mikomi sobbed silently, clutching her mother's new yukata, soaking it with her tears. Sakura merely petted her hair, whispering comforting words to her. "Miko-chan…your father really wouldn't care if you cried. Big girls can cry too."

Mikomi shook her head furiously against her mother's shirt.

"I'm a kunoichi, and I cry sometimes."

Another furious shake.

"And Deidara would think it was pretty stupid not to cry. He likes it when you're expressive, remember?"

And Mikomi slowly nodded. Sakura smiled down at her. "Now let's go, Miko-chan! We're going to get something to eat and then meet up with daddy, ok?"

Mikomi gave another nod, clutching her mother's hands tightly. Sakura merely picked her up, holding her against her hip as she opened the door.

"Dang it took you long enough Forehead—Oh!" Ino whirled around, but her teasing frown turned into a bright smile at the sight of Mikomi, who was watching the girl curiously.

"This must be Miko-chan! You were asleep when I came in to talk to your mommy so we haven't met. I'm her best friend, Ino."

Mikomi merely buried her face in her mother's shoulder.

She didn't like Ino, not one bit. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with her _personally_ but her hair was too blonde and her eyes too blue and it hung in front of her face on one side just like Deidara's and—and Mikomi didn't like that at all.

So she looked away because she didn't want to look at the girl who reminded her so much of her uncle.

Ino seemed a bit worried at Mikomi's reaction, but she merely smiled. "Alright Sakura, I decided that hospital food is out of the question—you remember how nasty that stuff is, right? So we're going to head to Ichiraku!" At this she pointed dramatically down the hall, striking a pose with her other hand placed on her hip.

"Aren't we supposed to go see the Hokage first?" Sakura asked wryly at the sight of her friend's antics. It seemed that no matter how old Ino got she was still the same dramatic girl that Sakura had always known.

"Oh…yeah…" Ino frowned. "Man, I didn't want to talk with him right now…"

"Why not?"

"Er well…" Ino rubbed the back of her neck and grinned sheepishly. "I kind of um…yelled at him earlier about um…something about the mission and sending Atsuko on it and uh…he isn't too happy with me."

"Ino…" Sakura's tone held warning, and Mikomi peeked at the blonde from behind her dark bangs. She was blushing, avoiding Sakura's gaze as they walked. Mikomi tried to ignore all the doctors and nurses that were watching them as they went down the stairs and up to the large receptionist desk.

She sent an Uchiha-worthy glare at the secretary whose gaze had turned a bit too sour for her tastes when she'd looked at her mother. The secretary seemed to notice it because she looked to the little child—and flinched.

Mikomi silently wondered why the people in the hospital looked at her mother with such angry eyes—or shocked gazes. Her mother was a really nice person. She'd never done anything bad. No one should glare at her like that, not unless they wanted her daddy to hurt them for being so mean to her mommy.

"Where are Itachi and Kisame?"

"They're probably at the Hokage's tower. We're still trying to get everything settled. I mean…you guys just popping up here and telling us that Pein and the rest of the Akatsuki want to kill us all…it's just…" Ino gave a small sigh. "It's hectic. There are Anbu and little Chunin messengers running amuck in the Hokage tower. That's another reason I don't want to go in there. It gives me a headache."

Sakura nodded. "Are we…are we being welcomed in Konoha?"

Ino grinned. "Forehead, if Naruto didn't welcome you back to Konoha then he would have been assinated by your staunch defender Sasuke." She giggled. "And with the old council dead and a new one in place well…things move much more smoothly these days."

Sakura gave a small smile, shifting Mikomi on her hip as they walked out into the sunlight. It was blinding at first, and Mikomi blinked a few times to adjust her eyes to the light. And then she stared in wonder at the sight before her.

The street was bustling with people: laughing people, screaming people, singing people. Families strolled down the streets with groceries in their arms. Blushing couples walked hand-in-hand, embarrassed to look at each other. Shinobi teams strolled down the streets talking to one another about jutsu and training schedules.

The smell of food made her stomach growl, and there was so much color that it was frightening. She was used to Rain and the darkness that came when Leader-sama always used his rain jutsu. There was never any sunshine, and everything always seemed so monochromatic there.

But here…the sounds almost made her head hurt they were so loud. And the fact that people turned to stare at them as they walked made her uncomfortable…and so did the whispers.

"…Akatsuki…traitor…see that symbol?"

"….Uchiha…massacre…"

"…Hokage-sama…trust…no longer missing-nin…"

If her mother noticed the whispers—and she knew that she did—she ignored them, smiling as she chatted with Ino. Mikomi noticed that Ino was sending vicious glares at the gossiping groups that said anything derogatory, and Mikomi decided that she liked Ino a little more, even if she reminded her of Deidara.

"AHA!" Ino shrieked out, pointing exuberantly. "Ichiraku straight ahead!" She grabbed Sakura's hand and dragged her towards the booth.

"Yamanaka-san." The man greeted, before his eyes went wide at the sight of Sakura and her daughter walking in behind the hyperactive blonde. "…_Haruno-san_?"

"Uchiha." Sakura amended with a small smile, before sitting down, Mikomi in her lap. The young girl hadn't wanted to sit in the seat beside her, opting for sitting as close to her mother as humanly possible. She fidgeted a bit beneath the man's surprised stare, but her mother's comforting presence surrounded her and she calmed.

"Three miso ramen, please!" Ino chirped, winking at Sakura. Sakura smiled softly, realizing that Ino remembered Sakura's favorite kind of ramen and had decided to order the same for Mikomi. The Ichiraku owner blinked a few times before getting out of his stupor and hurrying with their orders.

"After this we're going to go and see your otousan." Sakura smiled softly at her daughter, who nodded.

"Aw man…do we really have to go to the Hokage Tower after this…?" Ino whined, looking over at her friend with pleading eyes.

Sakura nodded stoically, and Ino groaned.

"Here you are, please enjoy." The man placed the bowls in front of the two women and Sakura placed Mikomi's bowl beside her own.

"Itadakimasu!" Ino sang out before digging into her noodles. Sakura followed behind a bit more sedately, watching Mikomi stir her noodles around in the broth for a few seconds before picking some up with her chopsticks.

Sakura merely gave another smile, watching her daughter eat her noodles stoically. She had the hardest time concealing her laughter at the side of her daughter's serious face as she slurped up a noodle and a bit of the broth splattered across her cheeks, making her blink.

But her laughter and smiles stopped abruptly and turned to shock as a hand reached out and wiped the broth off of Mikomi's cheeks with a napkin.

"I see you like ramen." The soft monotone shook her from her stupor.

Sakura could only turn her head and stare in surprised delight at the person leaning against the booth on her left, his dark eyes soft and thoughtful, his dark hair a little longer than she had remembered it.

"Sasuke."

He smiled.

* * *

"Hey! Where the hell is Ino!?" Tenten yelled out, shoving a stack of papers into a disgruntled Chunin aide's arms. Her face was flushed with anger as she glared around the Hokage's office, trying to locate the blonde. "She said she'd bring Sakura here TWO HOURS AGO!" They had been working non-stop since Sakura and the others had arrived.

Hinata smiled softly, trying to calm her soon-to-be sister-in-law. "Tenten-chan…I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for this…"

Tenten opened her mouth to retort when Temari spoke, her voice a loud roar that silenced everyone's loud yells. "EVERYBODY QUIET! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT THE HOKAGE IS TRYING TO THINK!?"

…

…

…

Everyone exchanged sheepish glances with one another, chuckling softly as they blushed. Naruto merely sighed, before giving Temari a grin, "Thanks." He turned to Shikamaru, "Man, your wife sure knows how to take charge."

"You have no idea." Shikamaru muttered in reply, earning a sharp smack on the head from said wife.

At the moment it was pure chaos in the Hokage's office—and the rest of the tower. Messages were being written and sent to all the different allied villages, information on the Akatsuki was trying to be gathered, and panicked Council members were trying to be calmed.

At the moment they'd been sent out and the only people in the room were the Konoha twelve minus Sakura, Ino, and Sasuke; the Kazekage and his brother Kankuro, Sai, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Kisame, and Itachi. The rest of the old Jonin senseis were out on missions—and were being called back to the village at record pace of course—and Anko was with Ibiki at the interrogation unit.

Chunin aides were also running amuck, relaying messages to Naruto and the others from the hospital where Tsunade and Shizune were stuck at the moment with an influx of wounded, unable to come to the meeting for a few more hours.

"Hey everyone, didja miss us?" Ino poked her head inside, grinning like the Chesire cat.

"THERE you are!" Tenten rounded on the girl but was stopped by Neji who put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head with a sigh to calm her. She deflated a bit, giving her fiancé a small pout that didn't affect him.

Ino merely skipped into the room, followed by Sakura and Sasuke who were walking a bit more sedately.

Itachi stood abruptly, eyes narrowed a bit at the sight in front of him, hands clenched. Kisame choked on his sake, standing, ready to stop Itachi from doing something he'd regret. Everyone else just stared.

Mikomi was holding Sasuke's hand.

Sakura saw Itachi's small glare and sighed softly, walking up to him. She bent close, leaning in and whispering so no one else could hear. "Ita-kun…Sasuke is her uncle. He deserves this. Let them be." Itachi did nothing to show he heard her save for a small relaxation of his tense muscles.

Sasuke stared up at his brother and there was a long moment of silence.

"Itachi."

"Sasuke."

Sakura looked between the two brothers and almost gave another sigh. She was saved, however, by Naruto. He practically leapt up from his seat and launched himself over his desk, landing in front of Mikomi, who jumped backwards, looking like she was ready to get into a defensive crouch.

"Miko-chan!" And he did the worst thing he could have ever done.

He tried to hug her.

Sasuke merely grabbed the girl away from the towering blonde, holding her up as Naruto face-planted into the floor. Mikomi was staring down at the Hokage with wide green eyes.

"Miko-chan…" Naruto whined. "I just wanted to hug her…she's my little niece too teme!"

"Leave her alone dobe." Sasuke intoned. "And she isn't your niece."

"Yes she is!" Naruto argued back, standing and leaning forward towards his friend. "Sakura-chan is like my sister and so that makes me Miko-chan's uncle!"

Kisame gave a loud, frustrated sigh before sitting back down to enjoy his sake. He had a feeling this was going to be a long meeting, especially if the Hokage was prone to random outbursts like this.

"Naruto, we have to get back to the matter at hand." Kakashi drawled, noticing Mikomi's discomfort, Itachi's irritation, and Sakura's waning patience. Sasuke slowly put Mikomi back down on the ground as Naruto gave a defeated sigh.

"Ok, ok…" He waved Kakashi off before going to sit back at his desk. "I guess we'll just have to save introductions for later." And he seemed to become a different person, his cheerful smile hiding behind a serious frown.

"Sakura, you, Itachi, and Kisame escaped from the Akatsuki to tell us that they plan on taking over the world with the power gained from all the nine beasts, correct?"

Sakura nodded.

"They are allied with Cloud." Kisame put in. "So that means they'll have at least one army on their side if not two, if Stone decides to join them. Or…Mist…"

Naruto nodded. "We're allies with several smaller villages, but if what you say is true then that means we'll be fighting against three of the great shinobi villages."

"Suna and Konoha cannot fight them off alone." Gaara added, "even with the help of the smaller villages."

"Not now, since they have all nine beasts." Kankuro groaned out. "Man…you guys gave them the Kyuubi on a silver platter!" He sent a small glare at Sakura and Naruto.

"It was the only way to save Konoha before." Naruto defended, bristling a bit in indignation.

"Besides, what makes you think that the Akatsuki have the Kyuubi?"

…

…

…

Silence reigned after Sakura's calm question. She was smiling softly at them all, her eyes glinting mischievously.

"But…but Sakura-chan you…you took the Kyuubi out of me!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sakura nodded. "Yes."

"And we saw you give it to Leader-sama." Kisame cut in. "That chakra in the scroll was huge. It had to have been the Kyuubi."

Sakura merely grinned. "It wasn't."

Naruto blinked a few times, before he gasped as he remembered something from the day of the sealing.

_He saw Sakura run her fingers lightly over the two scrolls, biting her lip in concentration._

"_Two?" Naruto asked confusedly._

"_I can't fit all of it into one." She answered back readily—almost too quickly. "Because of the severity of the jutsu I need to use two scrolls."_

"Two…Sakura-chan…one of those scrolls you used…they weren't both for the Kyuubi."

Sakura shook her head. "No Naruto…they weren't."

"But you gave a scroll to Pein with an amazing chakra level. What was that then? It had to be something that could trick him." Kakashi pointed out.

Sakura nodded.

"What did you use?"

Sakura gave a small grin. "It's a secret."

"Sakura-chaaaaaan!" Naruto whined. "Come on, tell us!"

"Sorry Naruto." Sakura shook her head. "But let's just say that the Kyuubi is safe. No one can get him now."

"When Leader finds out that he doesn't have the Kyuubi he's going to come looking for it." Itachi murmured, making the room go quiet.

There was a long moment of silence before Sakura shrugged. "They'll come after us anyway."

Everyone nodded, faces darkening.

"Well, we can't think about this anymore today." Jiraiya sighed, pushing off of the wall he'd been leaning against. "We're all tired and worn out from too many surprises and you guys have been running around nonstop since our team got back to Konoha."

"Yeah." Naruto grumbled. "I guess we all need a good night's sleep."

"Which brings up a good question." Kiba grinned. "Where are they going to stay?" He pointed to the former Akatsuki members.

"How about the Uchiha compound?" Ino suggested.

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "No." His rejection was echoed by Sasuke, who merely sneered at his older sibling. No matter if Sakura cared for them both, the two would never get along it seemed. Years of pent-up hatred made getting along a little difficult.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed in return. "Why not? Afraid you'll feel too guilty if you return there?"

"Hardly." Itachi drawled.

"I think staying at the Uchiha compound is a good idea." Naruto cut in. "It's got plenty of houses so there's enough space for everyone. And think about it, you two can live in separate houses on opposite sides of the compound if you want! You won't have to see each other at all. And besides, Mikomi needs to see her uncle, right?"

Mikomi merely held her mother's hand, looking from Itachi to Sasuke. While it was true that she had grown to like the quiet dark-haired man that her mother had said was her uncle, she wasn't too sure about him still. Her shinobi training told her not to trust him, even if she wanted to. And besides, her daddy didn't seem to like him at all. But her mother did…she was confused, and she bit her lip, squeezing her mother's hand tightly.

"The Uchiha compound is fine." Sakura finally decided. _We need to resolve this, one way or another. I won't have Mikomi stuck between these twos' hatred for one another._

"Alright, the Uchiha compound it is then!" Naruto agreed, catching Sakura's gaze and winking. She smiled back. Naruto then stood, stretching. "This meeting is officially ended. Everybody meet back here tomorrow afternoon. Try and sleep in, I have a feeling we won't be getting much sleep soon."

There was a chorus of agreement as everyone filed out of the room, leaving only Sasuke, Kisame, Itachi, Sakura, and Mikomi. Naruto was standing at the door, waiting for them to leave so that he could lock the office behind them.

"Let's go then." Sasuke said stiltedly, walking towards the door. Sakura watched his retreating back worriedly. She wondered if there was really any way that this could be resolved peacefully. But she wanted so badly for Mikomi to know and love both her uncle and her father.

And Sakura would be damned before she let the two of them ruin Mikomi's future with their constant hatred of the past.

* * *

The clearing was silent, with a few birds chirping in the distance. Their cheerful song was almost a mockery of the depressing scene below, which was bathed in bright sunlight. The entire clearing was a field of uprooted trees and shattered boulders.

Only something like Deidara's highest explosives could have caused this, or so Sasori believed.

_The only explosives you had that could have made this would have killed you in the process, _Sasori thought, and his thoughts were troubled. He had always been fond of Deidara, had considered him more than just a mission partner.

But all the facts led to his death, and Sasori had always known that such a thing was inevitable. Deidara had always wanted to die in an eplxosive manner. Well…he had gotten his wish.

Sasori slowly crouched down next to a pile of rocks, picking up a small sliver of an orange mask. His face was stoic and emotionless as he stood, dropping the piece of ceramic and crushing it under his sandal as he turned to leave.

There was nothing left here anyway.

He began walking away when he heard a small groan from behind him and stopped, slowly turning.

He hadn't even seen the body earlier, as it had been hidden from his view by a few boulders from the direction he'd come from. He walked over to the bleeding body slowly, stopping a few feet away. And he merely looked down at the pitiful figure lying on the ground in front of him. Blood was oozing from beneath a black and crimson cloak.

"H…elp…"

His voice was so desperate, so full of pain. He looked pitiful and helpless, so unlike the person that Sasori knew him as.

But then again, Madara had only been using him as a vessel.

He had said that the body was weak and the man's pleading eyes proved it. A weak Uchiha, one that wouldn't have been useful at all for anything else. So Sasori crouched down next to the body he had always known as Madara and who the others had known as Tobi. If this was "Tobi" then that meant Madara was either dead or as close to dead as an immortal could get.

Pein would not be pleased—or perhaps he would be because that was one less obstacle to deal with. But then again Madara was, if anything, resourceful and stubborn. Sasori doubted he had died, even with the magnitude of Deidara's jutsu. He turned the body of the dying Uchiha over and the man spit up a mouthful of blood in the process. The liquid speckled across Sasori's shoe.

The man could make a useful puppet, he supposed. He could use him against Hatake Kakashi, maybe trick Konoha into believing that he was still alive. Sasori shook his head, sighing. He would not do that and he knew it.

Because whether or not anyone else could see it, he'd developed a soft spot for the little pink-haired kunoichi as well. And Kisame and Itachi had been his partners for longer than he could remember.

_Deidara…you fool, _he thought angrily. _You should have sided with Leader-sama. Everything would have been so much easier if you and the others had done what Leader-sama asked…_

If _Sakura_ had only done what Leader-sama had asked.

Everything would have been fine at the moment if that had happened. But instead everything was such a jumbled mess of tangled problems and questions and lies that Sasori felt as if he were getting a headache—which was impossible of course, but he couldn't help but think that he was getting one.

The stress certainly wasn't good for him.

And neither was the guilt.

Especially as he saw the small little object lying a few feet away, resting against a burnt stone. It was the little wooden bird he had carved for Mikomi. He walked over to the rock, picking up the bird and putting it carefully in his pocket. Then he slowly turned and looked at the dark-haired Uchiha once more.

His breathing was harsh and irregular—he'd probably punctured his lung, judging by the way he was spitting up so much blood—and his body was covered in burns and cuts.

Sasori merely sighed.

* * *

"We'll meet you guys back here in a few hours." Sakura spoke, grabbing Mikomi's hand. They stood in front of the Uchiha compound in silence which was broken by Sakura's voice.

"Eh?" Kisame grunted. "Where are you guys going?"

"Nowhere in particular." Sakura smiled back. She looked over at Itachi's questioning gaze and she sighed, "I'll tell you when we get back, alright?"

Itachi nodded, though he looked as if he didn't quite believe her. And she also knew he was angry about her leaving him with Sasuke. Alone. In the Uchiha Compound.

"We'll be back in no time. An hour or two at the most." She tugged on Mikomi's hand and the young girl followed her, gaze curious. "Come on Miko-chan!" They began walking away before anyone could voice a protest.

Halfway down the street Sakura turned back to yell over her shoulder, "I'm trusting you to keep the peace, Kisame!"

Kisame merely grinned, shaking his head as Sakura and Mikomi continued walking, disappearing into the throngs of people in the streets.

"Come on Miko-chan." Sakura smiled softly down at her daughter, trying to purvey an air of cheerfulness. "I want you to meet my okaasan. And then…" Her smile faltered a little, but still held. "Then we'll go see your daddy's okaasan and otousan tomorrow, ok?"

She saw the question in Mikomi's eyes, even if the child did not ask it: why weren't they going to go see Sakura's father?

Sakura merely grabbed a hold of Mikomi's hand and they continued their walk. The streets were becoming a little less crowded the more they walked. Mikomi didn't know where they were going, really, but decided that it was ok, as long as her mother was happy.

She was still a little bit in shock from meeting all the different people that her mother said were friends—or rather, having them stare at her. She always hated it when people stared at her. Staring meant you had gained their attention and her daddy always told her that it was a shinobi's duty to make sure they were never seen or heard. So being put on the spot made her feel vulnerable.

"Miko-chan…you aren't scared of Sasuke are you? You seemed to be afraid of him whenever he comes near you." Sakura spoke softly.

Mikomi shook her head, not speaking.

Sakura sighed softly, but merely began swinging her arm, in turn swinging Mikomi's as she hummed softly. She saw the corner of Mikomi's mouth tip up in the hint of a smile at the little tune and Sakura grinned at her accomplishment.

"That's good, I'm glad you're not afraid of him. Sasuke loves you very much."

Mikomi looked doubtful.

"Miko-chan…your father doesn't like many of my friends because…my friends and your daddy used to fight a lot. Like…like Hidan and Kakuzu. They act like they hate each other but deep down you know that they're really friends." It was a stretch but Sakura wanted to make sure that Mikomi didn't think she had to choose between her father and her mother's friends.

Mikomi nodded, looking a bit relieved.

Sakura continued, "So don't think that your daddy doesn't like them. He's like that to everyone, ne?" She grinned, as if she and Mikomi were sharing a secret. "He's emotionless to everyone else but we know better right? He's a softy at heart."

Mikomi smiled a bit more, looking like she wanted to laugh at the thought of her dad being a 'softy' but merely nodded, because she knew her daddy wasn't as emotionless as everyone thought he was.

"So people like me and you have to make sure your daddy doesn't get lonely, ok?" Sakura continued. "It's our job to make sure your daddy's coldness doesn't make people hate him, because we know he really doesn't want that, does he?"

Mikomi shook her head, still smiling.

Sakura grinned again, but her smile faded a bit as they stopped in front of a large gate. "Here we are, Miko-chan…the Haruno compound…" Sakura breathed in deeply, and Mikomi thought it looked like she was trying to gather up her courage and strength for a hard battle as she took a step forward, pushing the gate open softly.

It didn't make a sound as it moved, and Sakura led Mikomi into the small courtyard in the middle of the Haruno compound, just inside the gate. She knew her father was there somewhere, but he wouldn't sense them—Sakura's chakra was hidden and Mikomi's was too small to be noticeable by him yet.

Mikomi held her mother's hand tighter, seeing her mother's eyes begin to glisten as they neared the garden in the middle of the courtyard, where a small grey stone was placed. There were words on it, but Mikomi didn't read them as her mother let out a shaky breath.

"This is my okaasan, Miko-chan." Sakura bent down next to the grave.

Mikomi blinked, noticing just then that yes, the grey stone was indeed a grave. The entire area seemed more somber now, even if the grave was surrounded by colorful flowers.

So…her mommy's okaasan was dead then? Mikomi knelt down next to her mother, looking at the grey stone curiously.

"She would have loved to meet you very much. Even if my okaasan and your daddy's okaasan and otousan aren't here, they can still see you from where they are and they love you very much Miko-chan!"

Her mother was crying softly, the tears running down her cheeks, even as she smiled, trying to be strong from her daughter. Mikomi merely slipped one hand into her mother's, giving it a small squeeze.

Then she reached out her other small hand and tentatively touched the weathered stone. It was cold against her fingers.

"She loved orange roses too, just like you Miko-chan." Sakura held her daughter close, gazing at the small bush entwined around the stone. "She would have spoiled you rotten. She always wanted a granddaughter. She thought I would never settle down and have children."

Mikomi still did not talk.

Sakura's gaze darkened with worry, but she merely continued to smile. "We can stay a while, or we can go see your daddy's okaasan and otousan if you want."

Nothing, just a flicker in her eyes as she held Sakura's hand tightly in her own, staring at the stone.

Sakura sighed, and was about to speak when she heard a gruff voice behind her.

"What are you doing here?"

Sakura's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, before she turned around slowly, shielding Mikomi with her body even as she furiously wiped the tears from her face.

…

…

…

"…otousan."

* * *

**(A\N: Well here ya go! I hope you guys liked it. :D I know…some of you were hoping that the person Sasori found was Deidara but…I'm sorry everyone, he's really dead. There won't be any magical jutsu to bring him back. But remember, he's dead but not forgotten! :D Anyway, I know I promised a meeting between Sakura, Mikomi, and Lord Haruno in this chapter but…meh…it'll be in the next one. And so will a scene between Itachi and Sasuke, and more on Sasuke's thoughts on Mikomi. And there will be ItaSaku moments coming up in later chapters, now that they're in Konoha.**

**Anyway, see ya guys later! I'm going to go try and write some Shades of Grey.**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	11. Chapter 10: Little Peachling

**(A\N: Sorry for the wait but as I said in my profile and on my DA page, I had the flu. So this chapter was left halfway written for a while. :) But here it is, and I hope you all like it. It was pretty fun to write, and has plenty of little hints as to what is going to happen later on in the story, so look closely! :D Anyway, enjoy!)**

* * *

_Sakura sighed, and was about to speak when she heard a gruff voice behind her._

"_What are you doing here?"_

_Sakura's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, before she turned around slowly, shielding Mikomi with her body even as she furiously wiped the tears from her face._

…

…

…

"…_otousan."_

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**Little Peachling**

* * *

He looked so different than the last time she'd seen him. There was very little red left in his hair. It was now a dull, steel gray and hung limp, a bit slipping across his face and blocking his once brilliant eyes from view. He didn't wear his Konoha Chuunin vest any longer. Instead, he wore a simple maroon yukata with the Haruno symbol on the shoulder. His face was covered in wrinkles, even if they were not deep. But the lines were plenty, and Sakura felt slightly guilty upon seeing them, knowing she was probably the reason for the majority of them.

He looked…broken. Lost. She hadn't seen him look so defeated before. But his gaze was hard, and his lips tight in a frown of irritation and anger.

"What are you doing here? No matter what deal our Hokage makes with the Akatsuki you are still this village's enemy and you should be killed where you stand."

Mikomi stiffened at the man's tone and wanted to yell at him for his cruel words to her mother, but she did not. The words leapt to her lips but they never went passed them. She merely gripped the edge of her mother's slacks tighter and glared. She figured that if she had a kunai she'd be holding it right now, standing in front of her mother to protect her from this man's harsh words.

"I am sorry Lord Haruno." She murmured, knowing better than to call him father now that she was banished from the clan. "I was merely introducing my daughter to her grandmother."

"Daughter?" Lord Haruno's eyes narrowed, before he spotted the small head of black hair that was peeking out from behind Sakura's legs. His eyes widened as Sakura put a hand on Mikomi's back and pushed her forward slightly, but still kept her enough behind her that she could block any attack that came their way.

She had Sakura's eyes, and her vulnerable lips, he noticed that immediately. Everything else about her…was someone else. Someone he did not recognize.

"Lord Haruno, this is Uchiha Mikomi. Miko-chan…this is Lord Haruno." Sakura murmured, her hand on her daughter's shoulder a reassuring pressure. Mikomi looked up at the man that she knew immediately was her mother's father. But her mommy didn't call him otousan. She called him Lord Haruno. Haruno…so her mother used to be from the Haruno clan? Mikomi merely shifted uncomfortably beneath the man's gaze. She knew that something bad had happened between her mother and her mother's father.

"Uchiha?" Lord Haruno echoed, almost as if disbelieving. "Uchiha Sasuke has been in Konoha for—" And then he stopped, eyes narrowing dangerously. "You dishonor me even more, Sakura. Marrying a traitor?"

"It only makes sense." Sakura intoned back callously. "Since I myself am labeled a traitor. Besides, I do not see why you are so concerned. I am no longer of the Haruno Clan so my actions can hardly harm you or your…wavering reputation." She merely let her eyes glitter dangerously.

"How dare you…" Lord Haruno began, taking a step forward.

"You are lucky I am allowing you to even look upon your granddaughter."

"Get out." Lord Haruno hissed.

"Gladly." Sakura growled back, looking down at her daughter, face softening. "Don't worry Miko-chan…we're going to go see your father now. Come on." She picked the girl up with a smile, holding her close.

"Sakura-chan! Is that my little Sakura-chan?"

Sakura blinked, turning slowly to see the hunched over figure walking slowly towards them from deeper into the Haruno compound.

"…grandma?" She murmured softly, seeing the older woman continue her slow and strenuous journey towards them. She, unlike Sakura's father, hadn't seemed to have changed at all, despite her old age. Her face still held its soft winkles, but her eyes were bright and crackled with intelligence. And her hair only seemed a bit lighter now. It was no longer pink, but a bright white with a soft rose tint.

Her grandmother was probably the only person in the Haruno compound that Sakura was genuinely happy to see. She had always loved her grandmother, even if she had thought she was a bit…_strange_ when she was younger. But as the years had gone by Sakura and her grandmother had created a deep bond.

But Sakura had thought that surely her grandmother would have been dead when she came back to Konoha. When she had not seen her sitting as the head of the Clan at the council meeting she had been sure that she was dead. But here she stood, leaning on her cane and grinning, showing off her perfect teeth.

"And this must be my little great granddaughter." Her grandmother laughed softly as she neared them. "Hello there little one."

Mikomi stiffened, snuggling further into her mother's arms. Sakura's grandmother merely gave another laugh.

"Mother. I suggest you do not associate yourself with them." Sakura's father bit out, his anger evident in his voice. "Sakura is no longer a member of this clan and her child will not be acknowledged by the Harunos either."

"I will decide who and what to acknowledge, boy." Sakura's grandmother snapped, frowning at her son. "You may have taken over as the head of the clan but I am still your elder as well as your mother. You will respect my wishes."

Sakura's father seemed taken aback, for he merely stared at his mother with wide eyes, before nodding slowly, turning his head away.

Her grandmother turned to her with a patient smile. "Sakura…it has been a while, hasn't it?"

"It has, grandma." Sakura nodded, smiling back at her.

"I'd ask you to stay for tea, but you seem to be in a bit of a hurry." Her grandmother sighed. "I can only hope you will come visit me again, since I have a feeling you'll be staying in Konoha for a while."

"How did you…?"

"I'm old, not deaf." Her grandmother deadpanned. "I hear things most people don't."

"She will not be visiting you." Sakura's father forced out. "She will not step foot inside of this place _ever again_ or I will—"

"Silence!"

Lord Haruno was shocked into submission at the anger glowing in his mother's bright eyes. "Sakura-chan will visit me if I wish for her to visit me and she will be allowed inside this compound as long as I see fit."

"Mother—"

"She is still your child." Sakura's grandmother murmured, her gaze now saddened. "And you now have a grandchild. Do not ruin the chance you have been given for forgiveness. It will not come again."

There was a long moment of silence, as Sakura held Mikomi tighter, watching her father. He stared at the ground, his gray hair hiding his face from view. Sakura could not judge what he was thinking, but his shoulders were tense.

Then he seemed to lose all strength as his shoulders slumped and he looked up, eyes weary.

"Come."

* * *

The Uchiha compound was silent, as always. Kisame watched Itachi out of the corner of his eye, shifting Samehada on his shoulder. Itachi's footsteps faltered as he walked through the gate of the compound.

If Itachi was anyone else Kisame would believe he was afraid. But this was Itachi, and for god's sake he'd killed all the Uchiha members here. There was nothing to fear. Itachi merely walked beside Kisame, with Sasuke in front of them, his own back stiff, hands stuffed into his pockets, shoulders hunched.

"Just…stay away from my house." Sasuke finally bit out, to ease the tense silence.

"Don't you mean 'our' house, little brother?" Itachi asked, his voice the same monotone as always.

Sasuke looked back at him, eyes narrowed and burning crimson. "Don't ever say that. You don't even have a right to step foot in this place. If it wasn't for Sakura I'd…" And he stopped, letting out only a small growl from deep in his throat as he began walking again.

"What?" Itachi asked calmly. "What would you do? Would you have enough _power_ to do anything, little brother?"

Sasuke whirled around, hands clenched into fists. Kisame swallowed, immediately stepped in between the two Uchihas, blocking Itachi from Sasuke's sight. "Hey now, Sakura said to calm down. Let's just get to our house and get settled in. None of us likes this arrangement but it's just the way it is."

"I don't have to take this from you." Sasuke bit out, glaring at Kisame, three tomo swimming in crimson depths. "This is _my_ home."

"Actually." Itachi began, his voice a lazy drawl. "As the eldest son, I inherit everything."

"DON'T YOU DARE CALL YOURSELF THEIR SON!" Sasuke snarled, taking a threatening step forward, eyes wide in anger. "You have no fucking right to say _anything_."

"You're still letting your anger get the best of you, little brother."

"Shut up." Sasuke hissed out from clenched teeth, his entire body shaking from the effort to restrain himself from attacking his older brother. He then let out a heavy sigh, and his shoulders slackened, and he ran a gloved hand through his hair.

"Just…shut up…" And it was a whisper, as he turned around and began walking again. "I'm not going to fight you. Sakura wouldn't want that."

Itachi looked at his brother's retreating back, watching the Uchiha symbol becoming smaller and smaller—it was still taunting him, the damned Clan. A persistent reminder, a demon that would never leave, no matter how far he distanced himself.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke's steps slowed to a stop, because Itachi's voice had been soft and seemingly weary when saying his name. It was a voice that Sasuke knew well. A voice from their past.

_"Niisan!" Sasuke ran down the stairs, skipping several in his haste to get to his older brother, who was slipping on his Anbu vest as he made to head out the door._

_Itachi turned around just as Sasuke skidded to a halt in front of him. He smiled softly, "What is it, Sasuke?'_

_"Shuriken!" Sasuke grinned, holding up his weapon's pouch—his mother had sown it for him on his birthday as a sign he was going to be a great ninja one day—"You promised!"_

_Sasuke's bright grin faltered slightly as he saw Itachi's own smile thin, and he sighed. "Sasuke…"_

_Sasuke frowned, biting his lip. He knew what was going to happen now. Any time Itachi used the 'soft voice' it meant he was going to say something Sasuke didn't like. Sasuke merely looked down at his feet, "…yes…?" He tried to hide the growing disappointment from his voice, but he knew he failed as Itachi crouched down, ruffling his hair and causing Sasuke to look up into his eyes._

_They were a soft onyx, and Sasuke saw frustration and sadness glittering in their depths. But Itachi merely smiled again, crooking a finger. "Come here."_

_Sasuke shot Itachi a suspicious look, but the genuine smile on his older brother's face finally made him smile too. He grinned from ear to ear, walking the few steps that separated him and his brother._

_Poke._

_Sasuke blinked, rubbing his forehead and frowning angrily at Itachi, who only smiled back at him._

_"Maybe next time, otouto. I have a big mission tonight."_

_"Why do you always have to go on missions?" Sasuke whined, sniffling._

_"Sasuke!"_

_Both Sasuke and Itachi turned to see his mother standing in the doorway. She was drying off her hands with a towel—she'd been washing dishes—and was giving Sasuke a reproachful look. She would not meet Itachi's questioning gaze. "Your brother is working very hard for the Clan. You shouldn't bother him when he has so much work to do."_

_"But—"_

_"But nothing." His mother continued, smiling down at him. "Your brother has a lot he must do. He must be very responsible and make the Clan proud. Now that he's Anbu he doesn't have much time to play with you."_

_"It's not playing." Sasuke muttered under his breath._

_His mother's eyes softened and she looked guiltily down at her youngest son. "Sasuke…"_

_"Sasuke."_

_Both Sasuke and Mikoto looked over at Itachi as he spoke. He was standing now, and was fixing his Anbu armbands. He looked over at his mother and Sasuke saw her flinch and look away. He looked back to his brother and saw his eyes were blazing with the Sharingan. It scared him and he took a step back, eyes wide. Why was Itachi looking so angrily at mommy?_

_Itachi seemed to notice that Sasuke flinched, and his gaze softened, his Sharingan disappearing. "Sasuke…" he repeated, and this time, it was a soft and tired voice that he spoke with. It scared Sasuke a little bit, almost more than the look Itachi had given his mother. It was as if Itachi were…sad with his mother's disappointment. As if he was _afraid_ of something that was going to happen._

_But nothing ever frightened Itachi or made him sad. And so Sasuke brushed it off as he looked over at his brother, giving him another tentative smile. "What is it, niisan?"_

_"When I get home from my mission, no matter what, I will train you with your shuriken." Itachi murmured, reaching over and ruffling Sasuke's hair one more time before placing on his mask._

_"But Itachi, when you return there is a Clan meeting—"_

_"No matter what." Itachi's voice was cold, implacable, and almost angry. Sasuke watched his mother swallow and look away once more. "I will train with Sasuke." And then he left, leaving Sasuke and his mother alone._

_Sasuke looked over at his mother and saw that she had a hand over her mouth, and there were tears in her eyes. _

_"Okaasan…" Sasuke walked over to her, and his mother seemed to notice his saddened state. She smiled, brushing the tears from her eyes as she bent down and hugged him. _

_"Don't be sad, Okaasan."_

_"I'm not." His mother sniffed. "I understand…Itachi is just very confused right now. He has a lot on his mind and on his shoulders."_

_"But why does Itachi have to do so much? We have other cousins and other shinobi who can go on missions and to Clan meetings. Why does Itachi have to do it all?" Sasuke whined._

_"Because your brother is the best shinobi there is."_

_"…do you love niisan, okaasan?" Sasuke asked, remembering the strangely suspicious look his mother had shot his older brother._

_"I am very proud of your brother, Sasuke!" Mikoto exclaimed, grinning before she stood. "Come on, I just bought some tomatoes. Would you like one?"_

_"Tomatoes!" Sasuke yelled out, jumping up and down before running after his mother into the kitchen. He thought for a moment about what his mother had said, and the way his brother had acted. And for a moment, he frowned. _

_…was pride the same as love?_

"Sasuke."

A repetition, said in that same calm, soft tone that had haunted Sasuke's nightmares and even waking moments for years now. The tone that always meant Itachi would say something that Sasuke didn't want to hear. "What?"

"They're gone."

Sasuke blinked, looking back to see Itachi walking to the other side of the Uchiha compound, towards one of the smaller houses near the wall.

"And they're never coming back. It's something that you need to accept." And then Itachi was gone, the door of the small home closing behind him. Kisame looked from the darkened doorway to Sasuke, who stood in the middle of the street, his gaze angry and sad and swirling with too many emotions to count.

Kisame merely shifted uncomfortably, before he turned from the younger Uchiha, just as Itachi had done, and walked towards the little house that Itachi had chosen.

And Sasuke stood in the street, his eyes locked on the darkened doorway. Itachi had turned his back on him once more…how many times would he have to watch his brother walk away from him? How many times would he have to see that Uchiha symbol fade into the distance until it disappeared?

He didn't even realize that his thoughts had mirrored his older brother's so precisely. All he knew was that he was alone again.

* * *

Sakura looked around her old room with a small smile. It was exactly as she had left it. The bed was made, the blankets folded neatly. Her old outfit, the one she'd never worn, was still hanging by the mirror.

Mikomi sat on the edge of Sakura's old bed, looking around the room with a small look of surprise on her usually emotionless face. She stared at the stuffed animals on Sakura's dresser top as if she couldn't believe that her mother was once as young as she was and would have such things.

Sakura's grandmother was sitting on the bed as well, a good foot away from Mikomi, knowing the young child was still wary of her.

"Here." Lord Haruno walked into the room carrying several boxes. "Take what you want and leave." And then he was gone, his footsteps fading into silence.

Sakura's gaze was sad as she looked at the open doorway where her father had been standing. She had hoped they could have a second chance, like her grandmother had said. But her father's heart was hardened against her, it seemed. He had said he would acknowledge Mikomi as his granddaughter…but that he could never love a daughter who had betrayed her village.

It wasn't what Sakura had wanted…but she knew that it was all she would get. So she merely began pulling objects from the dresser and placing them in the boxes. "This dress…when you're older you can wear it, Miko-chan. I never got the chance to, but I'm sure it will look beautiful on you." It was the white one that had always hung by the mirror. The one with flames on it with the black kanji for 'fighting spirit' on the front. She folded it and placed it in the bottom of one of the boxes.

"You don't have to do this, Sakura…your father will come around eventually." Her grandmother murmured. "He loves you very much."

Sakura shrugged, trying to pretend it didn't both her. "I don't care." But she did, and it hurt a lot. But she had to remain strong for Mikomi. Several of the boxes were full now, and Sakura slowly knelt next to the bed, pulling out a box from underneath. She smiled fondly as she wiped the dust from the top and placed it inside of one of the larger boxes.

"I told you that you'd marry an Uchiha one day." Sakura's grandmother grinned, as she looked from Mikomi to Sakura. "Or do you not remember?"

Sakura gave a small laugh, grabbing one of the boxes. "I remember."

_Sakura sat inside the small room, coughing because of the thick scent of incense that hung in the air. This was how it always was when she visited her grandmother's room. She shifted in the large chair, scrunching up her nose. Her grandmother's house always smelled so _funny_. At least she didn't have cats. Sakura was allergic to them. They made her sneeze even more than the incense._

_"Sakura-chan! I have something very special to show you today!" Her grandmother grinned mischievously, soft blue eyes twinkling. _

_Sakura frowned a bit, but hid it behind a smile. Truth be told, she thought her grandmother was a little…weird. She always seemed to be thinking about something else and never seemed to pay attention to what she was doing. How she had been a powerful shinobi whose team had rivaled the Third Hokage's was a mystery to Sakura. _

I mean, what kind of lady with a fetish for overly bright head scarves and tea could seriously have been on the Third Hokage's rival genin team? _Sakura thought with a sigh._ _Apparently their teams had been pretty closely matched in power. And her grandmother was supposed to be an amazing fuinjutsu master as well. _

_She just couldn't believe it. This was her _grandmother_ they were talking about: the old lady who burnt anything other than tea and had a habit of spouting out old 'words of wisdom' any chance she got. _

_Sakura merely waited as her grandmother pulled out a deck of cards and spread them across the table in front of her. Sakura raised an eyebrow, "Grandma…what are you doing?"_

_"I'm going to predict your future, Sakura-chan!" Her grandmother began playfully, winking._

_Sakura sighed. "Grandma…ever since I turned seven I stopped believing you could see the future. All you ever predicted ended up being wrong." She pouted a bit. She was ten-years-old for heaven's sake. She was practically a GROWN UP. She didn't believe in fortune tellers anymore._

_"Ah Sakura-chan…you're no fun anymore! Humor me." Her grandmother laughed, patting Sakura on the head, making her frown even more at the childish way her grandmother was treating her._

_Sakura merely sighed, bracing her elbow on the table. "Ok…" She really wanted to go and talk with Ino. Apparently Sasuke was going out to train that day and they were going to go and watch him. She inwardly blushed at the thought of Sasuke jumping in the air, throwing some kunai. He was so cuuuuuute!_

_Her grandmother merely watched her through half-lidded eyes, smiling to herself before she picked three cards out of the pack and held them in front of her, looking them over. "Hmmm…very interesting…"_

_Sakura raised an eyebrow, watching her grandmother go over the cards. "What is it?"_

_"You have a very interesting life ahead of you, Sakura-chan."_

_"Last time you said my life was going to end tragically and I would get eaten by a bear." Sakura deadpanned. "What is it this time?"_

_Her grandmother sniffed. "Don't mock the inner eye!" She merely looked over the cards once more. "I see…I see…yes, oh this is very interesting Sakura-chan!" And her grandmother actually sounded genuinely surprised._

_That peeked Sakura's interest as she sat a little straighter. "What?"_

_"I see…a diamond…yes, on your forehead."_

_"A diamond?" Sakura asked confusedly. _

_"Yes." Her grandmother nodded. "A sign of strength. You will be a very strong kunoichi in the future."_

_"Really?" Sakura asked excitedly, smiling a bit. This was getting interesting! _

"_And…" She looked at the other card, and she blinked in surprise. "Oh my! I see a wonderful love in your future, Sakura-chan!"_

"_Love!?" Sakura practically shrieked, jumping out of the chair. "Who grandma, who? Who do I fall in love with? Do we get married?"_

"_Yes. Yes I see marriage…" Her grandmother nodded, her voice serious, as she gazed at the second car. "And…a fan."_

"_A fan?"_

"_An Uchiwa."_

_Sakura paled for a moment, before she let out a loud scream, jumping up and down. "An Uchiha an Uchiha! I'm going to marry an Uchiha! I'm going to marry SASUKE-KUN!!" She danced around the room, pink hair twirling around her. "I HAVE TO TELL INO!"_

_She turned around abruptly to her grandmother. "Grandma, what does the third card say? How many children I'm going to have? Are Sasuke-kun and I going to twins? What is it? Huh?" She was leaning over the table, trying to look at the card, but her grandmother pulled the three cards away._

"_No peeking, Sakura-chan." She reprimanded seriously, before she looked at the third car. Her smile fell, and she paled a bit, before she let out a low, shaky breath._

"_What is it, grandma?" Sakura asked curiously._

"_It's…nothing." Her grandmother smiled again, although it looked forced. "You'll have twins."_

"_YES!" Sakura screamed, jumping up and down before she ran out of the house. She ran back in a second later to kiss her grandmother on the cheek. "Thank you grandma! I gotta go tell Ino! Won't SHE be jealous?" She grinned before bounding out of the room and out the door._

_Her grandmother placed the cards down on the table, face-up, her gaze serious. It was a normal deck of cards, and the three cards themselves were nothing special. The ace of diamonds, the jack of clubs, and the king of hearts. _

_But her grandmother merely began shuffling the deck, long withered fingers shaking as she tried to hold back her tears._

_There were no twins in Sakura's future._

"That's everything…" Sakura murmured as she summoned several clones to pick up the rest of the boxes and one to carry Mikomi. She turned to her grandmother, not noticing the pained smile on her face. "Well…I guess…I guess I'll try and visit you again soon, grandmother."

Her grandmother merely waved her off, standing, leaning on her cane for support. "It's alright, Sakura-chan…I'm just glad I got to see you one more time…and meet my cute little granddaughter!" She grinned at that, and Mikomi gave a small, tentative smile back.

"She will be a great shinobi one day…better than her mother and father." Her grandmother murmured, before she lifted a hand to ruffle Mikomi's hair and then thought better of it, placing her hand back on her cane. "Goodbye, Sakura-chan."

"Goodbye grandmother." Sakura kissed her on the cheek.

* * *

Pein took a sip of his wine, rolling the tart flavor on his tongue. He swirled the glass, taking a small wiff, like a professional connoisseur, his eyes half-lidded as he looked across the room, gaze resting on the roaring fire.

Konan stood against the wall behind his chair, hands busy with a piece of paper. It was a light rose color—it reminded her of Sakura's hair. She blinked, frowning at the fact that she was thinking of the girl who had betrayed Pein, and went back to her work.

Hidan and Kakuzu were slouched over in a corner, Kakuzu leaning against the wall looking as bored as could be while Hidan sat against it, his scythe resting in his lap, muttering to himself.

Zetsu was nowhere to be seen but Konan knew he was there, somewhere, listening. He was always listening, always ready to follow through with Pein's order. If it were anyone besides Pein that he obeyed, Konan would find his loyalty disgusting. But it was Pein, and anything less than full allegiance was absurd and unheard of.

"Is there anything else you want, Leader-sama?" Hidan finally asked, voice gruff and impatient as he fiddled with his pendant.

Konan continued to fold her paper subconsciously.

"We have all the power we need." Pein murmured, his voice a deep, laconic drawl. "We merely need to harness it and put it to its fullest potential. But before that can be done the enemy's forces must be…thinned…"

"Your plan?" Kakuzu questioned, raising one eyebrow as if to say a mocking, _because you _must_ have one after all._ Kakuzu and Hidan were not the most loyal or the kindest, and their sarcastic and sometimes demeaning remarks to Pein always made Konan want to rebuke them. But Pein would not like that, and so she always settled for an icy glare.

She gave them one now, her fingers deftly tucking a creased corner beneath another slip of the rose colored paper.

"We will begin by straining their alliances with other villages." Pein murmured, eyes shifting from the fire to the chess table, where the pieces had remained since Sakura had attacked him. His eyes narrowed a bit, in anger and surprise, as he saw that the opposing king piece had moved one square over. For some reason—besides the fact that someone who was not authorized to have moved the piece—the placement of the piece on the board was irking him.

"Who are they allied with?" Hidan finally asked.

"Sand, Grass, Hoshigakure, and several other small shinobi nations."

"They're also allied with Moon and Snow, aren't they?" Kakuzu muttered, eyes narrowed a bit as he waited for Pein's answer.

Pein merely nodded. "Yes. And the Hokage has made several...attachments with the leaders in most of these places."

"We are allied with Cloud and Stone." Hidan finally cut in. "What about Mist? Or are those cowardly fuckers going to stay out of this one?"

"We will see, when Madara returns." Pein murmured.

"Well, what's the plan for straining alliances then, Leader-sama?" Hidan sneered, and Pein's eyes narrowed dangerously, and Konan's hands stilled in her paper folding, before she resumed as she noticed that Pein brushed the insult off. It was Hidan's way, and Hidan was still useful to them.

Pein merely shifted in his seat, the red wine in his glass swirling. "We will—"

The door slammed open, and everyone in the room grabbed for their weapons, save for Pein, who continued to sit, looking nonplussed.

A shadow fell to the floor, heaving, blood splattering across the ground every time he let out a pained wheeze.

"Madara." Pein nodded his head in greeting, eyes dancing maliciously. "I suppose this means you have failed."

Madara's red eyes glared up at Pein but he said nothing. It seemed to take too much effort to speak. He merely doubled over on the ground, throwing up another mouthful of blood. A speck hit Pein's robe and he flicked it out of the way before any more damage could be done.

"My body…I had to part with it…" Madara finally hissed after several more minutes of labored breathing, in which Hidan let out a string of surprised curses at the sight of Madara's feeble condition, Kakuzu began calculating how much it would cost to get the blood stains out of the floor—he'd probably stained all the wood, the fucking bastard—, Zetsu remained silent in his hideaway, and Konan continued to fold her paper.

"I am mortal while in my own body. I need an Uchiha." Madara spat, "If you want to fulfill your _vision_ you will get me one…"

"Do not order him around you—" Konan began, bristling in indignation as she rose to Pein's defense. But she stopped as Pein lifted up a hand, waving her off.

She merely clenched her hands—and immediately stopped as she remembered that she'd been folding her paper. She looked down at the slightly smushed remains of her artwork. She blinked, seeing it was a flower—exactly like the one she'd folded for Sakura to give to Mikomi for her birthday.

Pein looked around the room, from Madara's heaving form, to the darkened doorway.

…

…

…

Madara looked around the room as well, seeing that Pein seemed to be searching for someone. He saw someone was missing and commented on it, voice raspy and breathing labored. "Where is Sasori?"

Konan's brow furrowed a bit. "…he was sent to retrieve you."

Pein continued to swirl the whine in his glass, eyes narrowed and burning steel gray.

"I did not see him."

And Pein suddenly realized what was wrong with the chess board. With one move…the opposing king had captured the queen, and one of the opposing side's pawns was now in a perfect position…for a checkmate.

The glass shattered in Pein's hand.

* * *

When Sakura and Mikomi arrived at the small home at the edge of the Uchiha compound, the sky was already dark. Kisame was snoring loudly in a room down the hall as Sakura's clones placed the boxes on the ground and the one holding Mikomi set her on her feet.

Mikomi remained silent as her mother continued to hold onto the small box _she'd_ been carrying as she began walking further down the hallway. "Come on Miko-chan. It's time for bed."

Mikomi nodded silently, following her mother into a small room. Her mother was smiling, looking around it fondly. "This one seems perfect for you Miko-chan…I think you'll like it very much."

Mikomi's only response was another nod as she sat herself down on the edge of the bed. Her mother placed the box on a small table that stood beneath the window. She pulled out another box from it—the one that had been under her bed, and opened this one, grinning down at its contents, green eyes sparkling.

Mikomi's curiosity was peaked as she leaned over, trying to see inside, but found it useless from her current position. Her mother merely pulled out a large, dusty book. She brushed the cover fondly, fingers lovingly tracing its bindings.

There was a soft knock on the door and both mother and daughter turned as Itachi opened it, his gaze stoic. He nodded at Sakura and walked over to where Mikomi sat. He sat down on the edge of the bed beside her, and Mikomi tried to resist the urge to hug him.

It failed.

She grabbed his arm and squeezed it, eyes closed. She waited for his reprimand. For him to tell her that she should not show so much emotion because it was weak. She heard him breathe in softly—he always did this before he spoke—and waited for the inevitable.

"The room down the hall is our own, Sakura."

"Of course."

Mikomi blinked, before she looked up at her father and saw him staring down at her. They remained in silence for a long while, as Sakura continued to rummage through the box, before Mikomi gave a tentative smile.

Itachi merely reached out and patted her head, causing her smile to widen.

"Well Itachi, you're just in time to help me read Miko-chan her bedtime story before she goes to sleep."

"Hn."

Sakura merely walked over to the bed and sat on Mikomi's other side, the dusty book she'd been holding earlier placed in her lap. She spotted Mikomi's questioning gaze and smiled. "This was the book my mother read to me when I was a little girl. When I saw the same book in Rain I…I bought it for you. But since your book is still in Rain I knew I had to bring this over to you."

Mikomi blinked, looking down at the book and realizing that it was indeed a faded version of the book that had always sat on her shelf at home.

Sakura opened the cover and Mikomi looked over the faded worn pages, the edges of them crinkled and folded at places. And Mikomi smiled as she realized that both her mommy and daddy were sitting with her and it was peaceful—more peaceful than she'd ever felt it could be. For once there was no worry of being attacked or sent on missions.

Her mother didn't need to make a genjutsu tree here.

And her mother and father seemed…_happy_. Or maybe accepting was a better word, because she'd never seen her dad look happy before.

Her musings were cut short at the sound of pages turning and she looked over at her mother. She was smiling at her, and her father's eyes seemed softer as he watched her as well. She merely smiled back, still holding her father's arm and looked at her mother as she finally opened up to a page she seemed satisfied with.

"**Little Peachling**," Sakura began, as Mikomi snuggled into her mother's arms and looked down at the weathered pages of the book.

"**Many hundred years ago there lived an honest old woodcutter and his wife. One fine morning the old man went off to the hills with his billhook, to gather a faggot of sticks, while his wife went down to the river to wash the dirty clothes. When she came to the river, she saw a peach floating down the stream; so she picked it up, and carried it home with her, thinking to give it to her husband to eat when he should come in. **

**The old man soon came down from the hills, and the good wife set the peach before him, when, just as she was inviting him to eat it, the fruit split in two, and a little puling baby was born into the world. So the old couple took the babe, and brought it up as their own; and, because it had been born in a peach, they called it **_**Momotaro,**_** or Little Peachling. **

**By degrees Little Peachling grew up to be strong and brave, and at last one day he said to his old foster parents: "I am going to the ogres' island to carry off the riches that they have stored up there. Pray, then, make me some millet dumplings for my journey." **

**So the old folks ground the millet, and made the dumplings for him; and Little Peachling, after taking an affectionate leave of them, cheerfully set out on his travels. **

**As he was journeying on, he fell in with a monkey, who gibbered at him, and said: "Kia! kia! kia! where are you off to, Little Peachling?" **

**"I'm going to the ogres' island, to carry off their treasure," answered Little Peachling. **

**"What are you carrying at your girdle?" **

**"I'm carrying the very best millet dumplings in all Japan." **

**"If you'll give me one, I will go with you," said the monkey. **

**So Little Peachling gave one of his dumplings to the monkey, who received it and followed him. When he had gone a little further, he heard a pheasant calling: "Ken! ken! ken! where are you off to, Master Peachling?" **

**Little Peachling answered as before; and the pheasant, having begged and obtained a millet dumpling, entered his service, and followed him. **

**A little while after this, they met a dog, who cried: "Bow! wow! wow! whither away, Master Peachling?" **

**"I'm going off to the ogres' island, to carry off their treasure." **

**"If you will give me one of those nice millet dumplings of yours, I will go with you," said the dog. **

**"With all my heart," said Little Peachling. So he went on his way, with the monkey, the pheasant, and the dog following after him. **

**When they got to the ogres' island, the pheasant flew over the castle gate, and the monkey clambered over the castle wall, while Little Peachling, leading the dog, forced in the gate, and got into the castle. Then they did battle with the ogres, and put them to flight, and took their king prisoner. So all the ogres did homage to Little Peachling, and brought out the treasures which they had laid up. There were caps and coats that made their wearers invisible, jewels which governed the ebb and flow of the tide, coral, musk, emeralds, amber, and tortoise shell, besides gold and silver. All these were laid before Little Peachling by the conquered ogres. **

**So Little Peachling went home laden with riches, and maintained his foster parents in peace and plenty for the remainder of their lives."**

Mikomi's eyes seemed to have come alive when her mother had been describing all the riches that Little Peachling had taken home for his parents. She looked as if she wanted to ask her parents a question but decided against it, merely nodding her head.

Sakura sighed softly, kissing Mikomi's forehead. She had hoped that Mikomi would be full of questions after the story, like she usually was. She wanted her daughter back so badly…but she merely tucked Mikomi under the covers and handed her one of her old stuffed animals. Mikomi looked down at the stuffed bear and held it close.

It wasn't the same as her little stuffed dog Naruto, but she liked it. Her father placed a hand on her forehead and ruffled her hair a bit before he stood as well, and she watched her parents leave the room, turning off the light as they went.

She stayed there in the darkness, staring up at the ceiling.

That night she dreamed of fighting a band of ogres with her little dog Naruto by her side, and her Uncle Deidara was the pheasant—made of clay, just like all of Uncle Deidara's art, and her uncle Kisame was the monkey, because he was so funny sometimes. And she took all of her gifts home to her little cottage where her mommy and daddy were waiting for her and they all lived happily ever after.

It was the best sleep she'd had in days, and she couldn't help but think that maybe her Uncle Deidara was trying to tell her that it was ok to be happy again, even if he wasn't there to teach her to blow stuff up with his clay or tell her jokes or dance with her in the rain.

And she smiled.

* * *

Sakura gave a soft sigh as she leaned back against Itachi. His arm was wrapped securely around her waist, his face buried in her hair. He was breathing evenly, but she knew he was not asleep. The room was the master bedroom of the house, and it was a nice room at that. But…it felt strange to her. She felt as if she were intruding in a place where she did not belong.

Itachi had killed the people who lived in this house and they were now sleeping in their bed. She shivered, before she slowly slipped out of the bed.

"Where are you going?"

"A walk." Sakura whispered softly, "I just need to clear my head."

"Hn." Translation: what happened at your father's house today?

Sakura sighed, "It's…nothing. Nothing that I didn't expect, anyway."

She heard Itachi shift on the bed as she began heading towards the door.

"Sasuke will never forgive me."

Sakura's hand rested on the doorhandle, and she looked back over at the bed. Itachi was sitting up, the blanket pooling at his waist. He wore no shirt, and the moonlight from the open window shone against his skin and hair. His eyes were a dark onyx, glinting in the half-light.

Sakura merely swallowed. "I know." And she did know…and it hurt.

She turned the door handle. "I'll be back in a few hours." And she walked away, closing the door behind her with a soft click.

* * *

**(A\N: Hey everyone! I hope you liked the chapter. :D About the cards that her grandmother saw: the diamond represented the seal on her forehead of course. The jack of clubs was Itachi. The King of Hearts is, where I am from, also referred to as the Suicide King, because the way he is holding his sword in the card picture it looks like he is stabbing it into his head. What does this mean exactly? I won't tell, and neither will Sakura's grandmother. :D It is important for later, but it does not necessarily mean Sakura is going to stab herself or something like that. You'll just have to read to find out, I guess. :D I hope you enjoyed the chapter. There will be more ItaSaku moments in the next chapter. :D**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	12. Chapter 11: Run Away

**(A\N: Sorry this chapter took so long you guys...but my muse seems to have returned! So...enjoy, while I go and try and write and update my other stories. :D)**

* * *

"_Sasuke will never forgive me."_

_Sakura's hand rested on the door handle, and she looked back over at the bed. Itachi was sitting up, the blanket pooling at his waist. He wore no shirt, and the moonlight from the open window shone against his skin and hair. His eyes were a dark onyx, glinting in the half-light._

_Sakura merely swallowed. "I know." And she did know…and it hurt._

_She turned the door handle. "I'll be back in a few hours." And she walked away, closing the door behind her with a soft click._

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**Run Away**

* * *

Take me away: A secret place.  
A sweet escape: Take me away.

Take me away to better days.  
Take me away: A higher place.

There's a place that I go,  
But nobody knows.  
Where the rivers flow,  
And I call it home.

And there's no more lies.  
In the darkness, there's light.  
And nobody cries.  
There's only butterflies.

Take me away: A secret place.  
A sweet escape: Take me away.

-excerpts from Pocket Full of Sunshine by Natasha Bedingfield

* * *

The road wasn't very long. She made it to the small grave twenty minutes after she left the Uchiha compound. Her feet had taken her there almost unconsciously. A few tentative raindrops fell onto her hair, and one hit her nose.

She hadn't expected it would storm, but she didn't let it bother her as she continued to stare down at the small grave. She crouched down, running a hand over the stone. It was well kept, and she saw a handful of withered flowers placed at its base. Someone had put them there a few weeks ago, probably.

She gave a tentative smile, even as she took a shaky intake of breath that ended in a small sob as she read the writing on the grave.

_Here lies Chigiri. A loyal and affectionate spirit._

He was more than just that, even if the stone didn't say that. A friend, almost a child. She missed him terribly—had missed him ever since she had buried him in this small little clearing.

The rain pelted her now, soaking her yukata.

"How are you doing, boy? I guess Sasuke is the one who leaves the flowers for you. It's very nice of him. I know he only does it for me, but it's still nice of him."

The sound of the droplets hitting the stone seemed to echo in the darkness.

Sakura slowly reached inside of her shirt and pulled out a small necklace. She held the small clay paw in her hand, staring down at it as tears filled her eyes and drifted down her cheeks. She was a bit glad that it was raining. At least now no one could tell she was crying.

She slowly took the necklace off, and placed it around the small headstone.

"Goodbye Chigiri." She whispered, before she watched the mud splatter onto the little clay paw.

"Goodbye…Deidara…"

And she closed her eyes.

And the rain stopped.

She blinked, opening her eyes and turning her head to the side. Itachi loomed over her, holding an umbrella over both of them, shielding them from the cold droplets.

"Kisame is watching Mikomi."

"Isn't she sleeping?" Sakura asked, voice still clogged with tears as she slowly stood.

"I knew that you'd still want someone guarding her."

Sakura nodded.

There was another moment of silence, as they both just listened to the soft pitter-patter of the rain against the umbrella. Then Sakura slowly grabbed his hand and held it tightly in hers. His long finger entwined with her slender ones and she knew he was doing it just to comfort her—Itachi disliked most contact that wasn't sex related—cuddling was something he only did when he knew Sakura was distraught. So this was…nice…and it made her smile as she brought her other hand up and brushed the tears hastily from her eyes.

And then she and Itachi both froze as a familiar chakra signature appeared behind them.

The umbrella dropped.

Sakura lunged.

Sasori jumped backwards as the ground in front of him erupted into a pile of rubble, his hold on "Tobi's" body tightening as he landed on the balls of his feet, ready to dodge another attack.

Sakura looked up from the rocks, her eyes bright with the Sharingan.

"_You_."

Sasori hadn't known it was possible for Sakura to have so much hatred in her voice. He was used to the calm, gentle Sakura. Yes, she sometimes became violent—but never had he heard so much loathing for a person in her voice before—even with Madara it had been pure anger.

It…made him feel strange.

Itachi stood beside her, his own eyes flashing crimson.

"What are you doing here?" he asked coldly, but Sasori wasn't given time to answer as Sakura leapt forward with a battlecry.

He barely managed to move to the right as her chakra-filled fist swept past him. His eyes widened slightly before he tripped, Tobi's added weight in his arms catching him off balance, along with the abrupt movement of him trying to get out of harm's way.

He caught himself from falling, stumbling a few feet to the side. "Please, let me explain myself."

Sakura whirled around, ready to attack again, "YOU BASTARD!" Angry tears filled her eyes.

She made to lunge forward again, but Itachi appeared behind her, holding her still.

"I HATE YOU! I HOPE YOU ROT IN HELL!" Sakura screamed, as Itachi's hands locked at her elbows. She leaned forward, tears streaming down her face as she tried to escape Itachi's grasp.

"Sakura—" Itachi began.

"I hate you, IhateyouIhateyouIhateyou, he's dead and you're NOT and you SHOULD BE YOU _FUCKING TRAITOR_!"

And then she was pressed against Itachi's chest, his arms tight around her body, trapping her against him. "Sakura." his voice was soft, breath warm against her ear. "Please…listen to him."

"He's dying, Sakura."

Sakura blinked, as shock slowly made her anger and despair fade. It was the first time Sasori had ever said her name like that. Just…Sakura. It had always been Haruno-san or Sakura-san or, more recently, Uchiha-san. It was…a way to distance himself, she had always thought. To prove that he was not a friend, just a teammate.

What did he mean by it now?

And she looked down at the body in his arm, the body that was slowly staining his dark cloak an even darker color.

"No, nononononono." Sakura shook her head, as the tears continued to fall. "I won't heal that murderer, you bastard. I won't heal the man who killed _him_."

"He isn't Madara anymore, Sakura."

"LIAR!"

And that was when five Konoha Police-nin appeared around them, with Sasuke at the head. His eyes were burning bright crimson and narrowed in fury. He tapped the edge of his sword hilt. "Sasori of the Red Sand and the Akatsuki…I didn't believe you'd have the courage to show your face in Konohagakure."

Sasori didn't even bother to look at Sasuke and his shinobi. He merely continued to watch Sakura, his gaze calm.

"Sakura."

She didn't want to look at him, but she forced herself to. "What?" And it was a broken, tormented sob.

"You need to heal Uchiha Obito."

* * *

Mikomi yawned softly as she stretched, a small smile tipping at the corners of her mouth before they disappeared, quickly hidden beneath and indifferent mask as she sat up in bed. Sunlight filtered in through the open window.

It was morning.

She frowned a bit, wondering why her mother hadn't come in to wake her up. Judging by the angle of the sun, it was around ten. Mikomi always woke up at seven to eat breakfast. Why hadn't her okaasan gotten her up this morning by kissing her on the forehead like she always did?

She slipped out beneath the covers of the bed and took a step towards the door before turning around with a sigh. Her mother always told her that she should make her bed each morning before breakfast. It was an old habit, so she found herself pulling at the blanket to straighten out the wrinkles. She leaned her little stuffed bear against the side of a pillow, before she made her way to the window.

She stood on her tip-toes so she could get a better view. The entire compound was deserted—she'd expected that—but it seemed to have a lighter feel to it than before. When she and her mother had returned the other night the air had been tense. Now it was…calm.

A bird flew through the air, chirping loudly as it did so.

Mikomi smiled softly.

_"Deidara will always live forever right here." Sakura pressed her palm against Mikomi's heart. "So don't worry, ok? Every time you see a bird just remember…it's him sending you a nice little kiss and a 'hello Miko-chan'."_

Mikomi's eyes closed for a brief moment, before she opened them.

"Hello Uncle Deidara." It was a soft whisper, but the thought of him watching over her made her smile widen.

She closed the window and made her way towards the door and stopped, eyes narrowing. There were several unknown chakra signatures in the kitchen with Kisame. Her mother and father were nowhere that she could sense.

Was something wrong?

Panic shot through her chest. What if something bad had happened to them too? What if Madara had come back for them!? What if they had died like her uncle Deidara?

She threw the door open and bounded down the steps, taking them two at a time. As she reached the foot of the stairs she rushed down the small hallway, before sliding to a halt at the doorway to the kitchen.

She blinked.

Kisame was sitting down at the table, frowning at the four people standing a few feet away from where Mikomi herself was.

"Miko-chan!" One of them exclaimed, grinning down at the little girl. Kisame grunted.

She recognized her immediately: Ino, her mother's best friend. Another one was vaguely familiar as well. The young boy who had hugged her mother when they'd just escaped Rain.

The other two she didn't know. One was a tall woman who looked to be a few years older than Ino. She had sandy-blonde hair tied back in four pigtails and wore a black kimono. She had a baby in a sling around her chest, and it cooed and gurgled happily, reaching out to grab the brunette boy's ponytail.

The last person was a young girl standing beside the woman with the baby. Her hair was around the same color as the woman's, but her eyes were darker and speculative. Mikomi saw intelligence and suspicion flicker in them as she spotted Mikomi and their eyes locked. The two of them seemed to be sizing the other up as either friend or foe.

The others watched in silence.

Finally, the other girl took a step towards Mikomi and held out her hand. "My name is Nara Karura. Who are you?"

Mikomi merely stared at the offered hand, eyes narrowed a bit, before she nodded at her, taking the other small hand in her own and shaking it once, before dropping it.

"This is Uchiha Mikomi, Sakura's daughter." Ino explained to the other young girl.

"Doesn't she talk?" Temari asked, but Ino shook her head.

Karura seemed to absorb this information for a moment, processing it and storing it in the back of her mind somewhere to remember later on. Then she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her shorts and looked to the side, gaze cool. "Talking is too troublesome anyway. At least she won't be annoying like the other kids."

"Karura!" Temari reprimanded sharply, but Mikomi merely snorted before nodding at the other girl, as if she accepted her. Karura merely smiled back.

"So where is Sakura again?" Kisame drawled from where he still sat at the table, after the little exchanged between the two girls was done.

"Last night Sasori of the Red Sand appeared in Konoha with a dying man in his arms that he claims is Uchiha Obito." Ino answered back.

Kisame choked on the sake he'd been drinking. "What?"

Mikomi blinked. Uncle Sasori was here? But…hadn't he turned into a bad man? Why would he come here?

"Apparently Sasori has left the Akatsuki as you have done and brought Obito with him after Madara separated from his body." Temari chimed in, "Sakura is currently at the hospital trying to keep the guy from dying. Itachi went with the Konoha Police-nin squad that met them at the scene to take Sasori back to the Police headquarters where he will be questioned."

Kisame raked a hand through his hair, sighing loudly.

"And Sakura asked me if I could come and watch Mikomi." Ino began.

"And I decided that it would be a good chance for her and Karura to get to know one another." Temari continued.

"So…we decided to take the kids to the park!" They finished together, grinning. Atsuko merely smiled softly. He had a mission later that day, so he'd only be able to spend a little time with them.

Kisame raised one eyebrow, before giving another loud sigh. "If Kitten says it's fine then do what you want. I guess I had better go to the Police headquarters and see what all this is about." Kisame stood before walking over to Mikomi and ruffling her hair. "Play nice, kid."

Mikomi merely scrunched up her face at his order, watching him go.

"Alright, let's head to the park!" Ino yelled out, reaching for Mikomi's hand. The girl flinched and made to draw her hand away, before stopping. She frowned a bit, swallowed, and then placed her hand into Ino's larger one.

Temari had never seen Ino smile so big. Ino merely grinned at Temari. "You know what this means, right?"

"What?"

"I am OFFICIALLY Mikomi's only aunt."

* * *

Sakura gave a tired sigh as she leaned back in her chair. She flexed her fingers to get the blood flowing in them again from holding them above Obito's body for so many hours. Her muscles ached from her stillness as well as chakra strain.

She'd almost lost him. His heart had stopped a few times, and the other medic-nin who had been helping her had panicked when his vital signs dropped and the monitor began beeping wildly. Sakura had lectured all of the ones in the room with her, sending one girl running out in tears. Sakura didn't regret it, however. Being a medic was a serious business and you couldn't let yourself panic or hesitate. If you did so your patient could very easily die because of your ineptitude.

She knew that Tsunade was going to give her hell for it later—barging into the hospital and ordering around the staff while her old shishou was having her _one_ break was probably not the best thing in the world to do. But luckily Ino and Shizune had been there and both women had hurriedly told the others to listen to whatever Sakura had to say.

Shizune had helped Sakura with the healing while the pink-haired kunoichi had asked Ino to go and look after her daughter.

Shizune had _not_ found Sakura's harsh treatment of the medic-nin healing Obito humorous at all, unlike the woman at the receptionist desk. She was, however, appalled at the other medic-nin's unprofessional response to the situation.

But everything was fine now. Obito was stable and had been moved into a simple hospital room for Sakura to finish up the minor healings. He was sleeping peacefully, and Sakura studied his face. He looked as boyish and gentle as she remembered, so unlike the cruel man who had taken over his body.

While she watched over him, Sakura finally realized that "Tobi" was no more. Tobi had been a third persona that Madara had created, and now that Obito would be in full control of his body once more, it would most likely disappear. Tobi was, after all, only a replica of Obito's boyish nature from his genin and chuunin days.

Obito's lips parted as he gave a moan that sounded raspy and dry, ending in a choked gasp. Sakura hurriedly helped prop him up, putting a cup of water to his lips. The man drank greedily, his eye still closed.

When he was finished, his one eye slowly opened. It was dark, just like Sakura remembered. The eye of an Uchiha. His gaze was unfocused and confused as he slowly sat up.

"R…in…?"

Rin…who was she? Sakura bit her lip, unsure of how to answer him.

"Where is she?" Obito's face became panicked. "She was captured! We have to go save her, is she alright? Did Kakashi and sensei help her in time?" he reached over and grabbed Sakura's shoulders, shaking her roughly. "WHERE IS SHE?"

"Calm down, Obito-san." Sakura said soothingly. "Everything is going to be alright." She figured Rin must have been Obito and Kakashi's other teammate. Sakura swallowed. How was she going to tell him that she and their sensei were both dead?

"I…I don't know where Rin or your sensei are, Obito-san."

"Why…why are you calling me san? You're older than me." And Obito blushed slightly as he looked into her face.

Sakura blinked in confusion, before a sudden realization hit her. Obito still believed he was a young Chuunin. He…he thought that they were still fighting Stone-nin. She understood why, of course. He had, essentially, been in a comatose state since the day he 'died' in Stone on the mission that her sensei had told her about briefly only once.

Obito still thought he was a 13-year-old boy.

_Oh god…_

"You said you don't know where Rin or sensei are but…but where is Kakashi?" Obito finally asked, and his voice was filled with panic. "Do you know where he is? Where's Kakashi?"

"I'm here." Came a soft voice from the doorway and Sakura looked up to see her old sensei standing there, his one visible eye filled with tears.

"…I'm right here…"

* * *

Children shrieked as they ran by, playing a game of tag. One of them jumped onto the jungle-gym to get away from whoever was 'it' and the others followed suit, yelling and teasing.

"They're so loud. It's annoying sometimes." Karura muttered.

Mikomi merely nodded from where she sat beside her. They were currently sitting in a large tree at the edge of the playground. In the beginning the other children had asked Mikomi if she wanted to play with them. But after her stony silence, many of them had deemed her "creepy". It was something Mikomi had never noticed before, having grown up around adults. She hadn't understood children could be so cruel until that moment.

_Mikomi looked around the playground with her head bowed, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. It was strange, because she was used to staring down a six-foot tall Akatsuki member during training, but she couldn't handle the nervousness that filled her stomach now as the seven other children at the playground watched her._

_One giggled, and Mikomi's eyes narrowed slightly. Where had Karura gone? She had said that she needed to go ask her mother something and she still wasn't back! And now Mikomi was stuck surrounded by a gang of gaggling kids that couldn't tell the difference between genjutsu or ninjutsu if it came and bit them in the ass._

_"So…who are you? We've never seen you here before." One of them began. She seemed to be the leader, a green-haired girl who looked to be a year or so older than Mikomi herself. All of them seemed at least a year older than her. Some even seemed to be around nine or ten._

_Mikomi merely looked all of them over, not answering. Yes, that one had a decent amount of chakra for a ten-year-old, if there was a fight that one would have to go down first. A simple fire jutsu could take them all out if something happened. She was thinking like a shinobi, not a child, because she had never _met_ other children. The most she had done was pass by a few of the children playing in Rain._

_This was new to her, and it was uncomfortable. She was hurriedly trying to find an escape route._

_The children didn't like her silence, apparently. _

_"Well?" The green-haired girl asked again, impatiently this time. _

_"She doesn't talk. Leave her alone." Karura drawled as she appeared beside the Uchiha child._

_"Doesn't talk?" The other girl wrinkled her nose in disgust. "What is she, some kind of freak?"_

_  
"Almost as much of a freak as a girl with green hair." Karura taunted back lazily, and Mikomi almost smirked at the flustered look on the other girl's face._

_"She's weird!" One of the other kids exclaimed. _

_"Yeah, she doesn't talk and she doesn't smile!"_

_"She's a zombie or something."_

_"Yeah, yeah!"_

_  
"And look at her forehead." The green-haired girl snickered, "It's so big, you could probably summon the Toad King on it." And then she leaned forward to poke it. She never got that far, however, because a small hand grabbed her wrist in a vice-like grip._

_Karura stared in surprise. Mikomi's hand had moved faster than she could follow. Her fingers were white with the pressure she put on the other girl's wrist. _

_"You freak!" The green-haired girl screamed out as she tried to pull away. Mikomi didn't budge._

_"You're just like your parents! My dad says they're monsters." One of the other kids spat._

_Karura saw a flicker of crimson fill Mikomi's eyes as they narrowed dangerously._

_"Hey! Let her go!" One of the other kids screamed out._

_Mikomi's grip merely tightened, her eyes cold. Karura's eyes widened as she realized what was happening. Mikomi was going to snap the girl's wrist!_

_"HEY!"_

_Karura and the others turned to see Ino run up to them, bouncing little Yashamaru on her hip. Temari came up behind her. _

_"What's going on?"_

_"She's hurting me! She just grabbed me!" The green-haired girl cried out, sniffling. Mikomi let go of the girl, her own gaze a bit surprised as the other kids called out agreements._

_"That's not true!" Karura snapped back. "You guys were bullying her. They called her a freak and were making fun of her forehead and that she can't talk, okaasan." She felt as if mentioing what the other kids said about Mikomi's parents wouldn't be a good thing at the moment, so she kept quiet._

_"WHAT?" Ino's nostrils flared as her eyes narrowed in the direction of the children. _

_Temari cross her arms in front of her chest. "That wasn't very nice. I think everyone here just needs to calm down and apologize."_

_The other group of children merely turned to walk away. "It doesn't matter, the freak can't talk anyway, so I don't expect an apology." The green-haired girl muttered as they all headed back towards the playground. _

_"GOOD!" Karura yelled back, "Because she doesn't HAVE to apologize to you, you, you…jerks!"_

_Mikomi merely looked down at her feet._

_"Hey…" Karura turned to see her friend looking as close to tears as she'd ever seen her. "Don't worry about it. Actually, it's better this way. If I knew that I could get them all to leave me alone by not talking I would have done it a long time ago."_

_Mikomi merely shifted on her feet. _

_Karura looked at her worriedly, before grabbing her hand. "Hey, do you know how to tree walk?"_

_Mikomi blinked, before nodding slowly._

_"Let's go practice. I'm not that good at it yet, but my dad says that I should probably get started working on my chakra control now, before I get to the academy. That way I can sleep during the lessons like he did."_

_Mikomi nodded, and the two headed towards the side of the playground, while Ino and Temari watched them go, saying nothing._

"So, you'll be going to the academy here, right?" Karura asked finally.

Mikomi merely shrugged.

Karura nodded. "I'm kind of hoping that I can be good enough beforehand so I don't have to go to the academy at all. That way I don't have to sit in class and listen to the teachers drone on and on. But then again, if I go ahead and take the Chuunin exams early then I'll have to actually do work for the village. It's so…troublesome…"

Mikomi smiled softly at Karura's favorite word.

"I bet you won't have to go to the academy. You already have perfect chakra control, and you know a lot of jutsu already, right?"

Mikomi nodded. Karura had asked her about the jutsus she knew already and Mikomi had written them down for her.

"Yeah. You'll make Chuunin easily, I bet." Karura leaned back on the tree branch. "Man…I can't even see the clouds from here."

There was a long moment of silence.

"Do you even want to be a shinobi?" Karura tugged at the ends of her newly curled hair. Ever since that day when she'd asked Ino to help her with it, she'd kept it curled. It made her different than her grandmother, made her a separate being than the woman that everyone expected her to be. She liked it that way.

Mikomi shrugged.

"Sometimes I think that everyone wants us to be shinobi because they want us to be like our parents. That's stupid. We should make our own choices. But it doesn't matter. I'm guessing I'll end up growing up, maybe becoming Jonin. I'll marry some guy and he'll be ok looking, not too handsome, not too ugly. We'll have two children and I'll outlive my husband and grow up to be some old crone who plays shogi all the time, and then I'll peacefully die in my sleep."

Silence.

"But sometimes…I wish I could run away from it. I mean, it doesn't _have_ to be like that, does it?"

Mikomi merely looked over at the older girl. She reached out a hand and slowly traced a finger over Karura's open palm. They had been communicating like this for a while now, so Karura read what she wrote easily.

_I want to run away sometimes too._

"But you seem to have a lot. I mean…your mother and father love you. And no one expects you to be anyone other than who you are, right?"

_My uncle wants me to be like his mother. He wants me to be the clan he doesn't have anymore._

"Yeah." Karura whispered. "Same with mine."

There was another long moment of silence.

"God, this is depressing. Most kids our age are still playing with dolls. Why are we so different?"

_We're prodigies._

"It sucks." Karura finally concluded. "It's too troublesome to be worrying about adult problems when you're only five."

"Hn."

Karura's eyes widened, before she grinned brightly. "You spoke."

Mikomi raised an eyebrow.

"Ok, it wasn't a word but it was a grunt. It was _something_."

Mikomi merely shrugged. She had never see Karura so excited. The other girl was usually lazy and laid-back. Why did the fact that Mikomi said something make her so happy?

"You're my friend, Mikomi. It's nice to see you happy." Was Karura's only answer to the question in the Uchiha's eyes. "Do…do you miss your uncle that much?"

Mikomi's grip tightened on the branch, before she stood.

"Sorry." Karura muttered. "I shouldn't have said anything."

Mikomi shrugged, before closing her eyes and letting herself fall backwards. Karura let out a choked gasp as she leaned over the branch. "Mikomi!" But her friend wasn't lying on the ground beneath her.

She heard a small half-laugh and her eyes narrowed as she looked down to see Mikomi hanging by her feet from the underside of the branch. "Don't scare me like that. Tch." She merely looked away, putting on a bored air, before she stood and then dropped as well, standing beside her, upside down.

"MIKO-CHAN!!"

"KARURA-CHAN!!"

Both girls blinked, before landing on the ground beneath them and looking up to see Ino and Temari standing a few feet away, smiling at the two girls. Ino had her hands on her hips, while Temari rocked Yashamaru in her arms. The young baby was sound asleep, breathing softly.

Mikomi merely turned to Karura.

"Come on girls, it's time to go home!" Ino called.

They smiled at each other, before grabbing each other's hands and running as fast as they could back into the forest.

"KARURA! GET BACK HERE YOUNG LADY!"

"MIKO-CHAN! WE'RE SUPPOSED TO GO HAVE DINNER WITH YOUR MOTHER AT THE HOSPITAL!"

But the two girls merely continued running.

Karura ran from her family's expectations—from the looks and stares of her uncles and the people in Sand. Because she was tired of being in her grandmother's shadow and not living up to her name. She wasn't her mother, and she wasn't her father. She was something in between and nothing like them at all. She wasn't her grandmother, and she wasn't anyone else they wanted her to be. She was just Karura.

And so she ran.

Mikomi didn't know what she was running from. Grief, loss, everything she knew she would have to face sooner or later and she didn't want to. She was afraid of what could happen to her family and friends because of her power. She was running from Konoha's hatred of her father and mother. Because she wasn't her mother _or _her father. She was just Mikomi.

And so she ran.

They were both trying to run—as the Hyuugas put it—from fate. Because they were so tired of being what everyone else wanted. They had known each other for ten hours, but it was enough. They were alike and the same and exactly what the other needed. And they wanted to escape.

And so…they ran.

* * *

**(A\N: Again, I'm sorry this chapter took so long to get to you guys. I just wanted to introduce Karura more, because she and Mikomi both play vital roles in this story. And their situation is very similar, I think. Karura looks like her grandmother, and so people want her to be like her. The same with Mikomi. And the reason their conversation was so in-depth even though they're so young is because both of them **_**are**_** prodigies, even if Karura is more just an intellectual genius than good with jutsu and all that yet.**

**Next chapter…Obito and Kakashi have a talk. Sakura, Itachi, and Sasuke have one too, and Mikomi gets stuck in the middle of their argument. Pein's plans start unfolding, and we'll get to see the scene with Sasori, Itachi, and Sasuke at the Police Headquarters. I hope you all enjoy it. :)**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	13. Chapter 12: Same Mistake

**(A\N: Sorry for the lateness of the chapter...this will be my last update before summer break ends...so sad...T-T anyway, enjoy!**

**But first...question and answer time with Lady Hanaka! You ask, I answer--most of the time. XD)**

**Q: So Karura and Mikomi are literally running away from Konoha to become missing-nin?**

**A: no, don't worry. XD They're just little kids thinking they can get away from a problem by running from it. They aren't running from Konoha, just into the forest. They aren't planning on betraying the village or anything. I hope that cleared it up for everyone. :)**

**Q: Are you going to make another sequel to this?**

**A: Unfortunately this is the last in the series, but I may do a drabble series about everything that happens after Shisui, so you'll get to see all of your favorite characters there. :D And this is definitely not my last ItaSaku. :D**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**Same Mistake**

Saw the world turning in my sheets and once again I cannot sleep.  
Walk out the door and up the street; look at the stars beneath my feet.  
Remember rights that I did wrong, so here I go.  
Hello, hello. There is no place I cannot go.  
My mind is muddy but my heart is heavy. Does it show?  
I lose the track that loses me, so here I go.  
And so I sent some men to fight, and one came back at dead of night.  
Said he'd seen my enemy. Said he looked just like me,  
So I set out to cut myself and here I go.  
I'm not calling for a second chance,  
I'm screaming at the top of my voice.  
Give me reason but don't give me choice.  
'Cause I'll just make the same mistake again.  
And maybe someday we will meet, and maybe talk and not just speak.  
Don't buy the promises 'cause, there are no promises I keep.  
And my reflection troubles me, so here I go.  
I'm not calling for a second chance,  
I'm screaming at the top of my voice.  
Give me reason but don't give me choice.  
'Cause I'll just make the same mistake,  
I'm not calling for a second chance,  
I'm screaming at the top of my voice.  
Give me reason but don't give me choice.  
'Cause I'll just make the same mistake again.  
Saw the world turning in my sheets and once again I cannot sleep.  
Walk out the door and up the street; look at the stars.  
Look at the stars fall down.  
And wonder where did I go wrong?

-Same Mistake by James Blunt

* * *

The entire room was silent, eerily so. One figure was sitting in a foldable steel chair, his entire body covered in chakra-blocking seals. Two other figures were in the room as well. One was sitting in a chair, sitting across the table from the trapped shinobi. The other person was leaning against the wall, his gaze impassive.

"Explain yourself." Sasuke ordered, his fingers tapping impatiently against the table.

Sasori merely raised an eyebrow. "I have already explained myself to Uchiha-san."

"Explain again."

Sasori's face remained emotionless, looking nonplussed at Sasuke's order. He merely shrugged against the thin wires holding his body to the chair. The chakra seals itched a bit, a strange discomfort he didn't know he could feel in his wooden body. But it was such a strong sense that he could feel it indeed.

"Hn."

Both Sasuke and Sasori turned to Itachi. Neither of them quite knew what the small grunt had meant—they'd need Sakura there to translate something like that—and so they merely interpreted it as "Sasori, explain again".

Sasori merely sighed softly, before shifting against his bindings once again. "Very well. I came here in order to save Uchiha Obito and to offer my services to Konohagakure."

"Why should we trust you? You've betrayed your village to become Akatsuki, and you aren't known as a trustworthy shinobi to begin with." Sasuke drawled. "I should kill you right now."

"What purpose would killing me serve? I could hold information on the Akatsuki inside of me."

"He has a point." Itachi nodded, breaking the tense silence as Sasuke glared at Sasori.

More silence, as Sasuke gritted his teeth, hands clenched tightly in anger and Sasori gave a small smirk.

"I am sure the medical unit would be able to dissect his body and gain the information that way. His heart is, after all, still intact."

Sasuke smirked, while Sasori's eyes flickered a bit. Was that fear? Or just amusement?

"Your daughter is in more danger than you could imagine, Itachi-san, yet you continue to hold me here and interrogate me." Sasori's voice was level and cool.

"She is protected in Konoha."

Sasori gave a small snort, "Are you so sure she is protected as of this moment? Konoha has many enemies…enemies that have allied themselves with Leader-sama."

Itachi's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Explain."

* * *

"Ka…kashi…?" Obito could only stare, one eye wide. This couldn't be Kakashi! He was…old! The same age as their sensei! This couldn't be Kakashi.

But the hair was the same, and the one eye that he showed. And everything else…his headband, his face-mask. It had to be him. It had to be.

He saw Kakashi swallow, hard, before he took a step towards the bed where Obito was sitting up.

"I'll leave you two alone." Sakura whispered softly, before giving them both an encouraging smile.

"Sakura—" Kakashi began, because he wasn't sure if he wanted to be alone with Obito or not. It was too much, and he felt as if he needed some support. He had spent every day since Obito died standing at the memorial stone. Every _fucking_ day telling himself that he wasn't good enough to protect his teammates and he needed to get stronger.

He couldn't do this on his own. But she merely placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. "I think you need to explain everything to him. Alone. Besides, I need to go and look after my daughter, ne?"

Kakashi nodded. "Alright." But his voice was rough with emotion and held a hint of uncertainty. He watched as the door closed behind her, leaving behind nothing but tense silence.

"What happened to you?" Obito finally whispered. "You're…what…what's going on Kakashi!?"

Kakashi winced at the desperation and confusion in Obito's voice. He really didn't know what to do at all. What should he say? Telling Obito that he was now 36-years-old didn't seem as if it would turn out well.

"Um, it's good to see you again, Obito." Kakashi finally muttered, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"What's going on?"

And all Kakashi could do was swallow, before he picked up the small reflective tray beside the bed, where the nurse usually left medicine and needles. He handed it to Obito, who stared in confusion at the shiny object.

"Kakashi—"

"Just…look…" Kakashi whispered, and Obito did—and stared, his breath momentarily leaving him. This…this couldn't be him! This person was too old. But he looked relatively the same, like Kakashi did. 

And he had a bandage over the left side of his face, where the Sharingan had been surgically taken out and given to his friend. What had happened after that? He couldn't remember anything at all…Where was Rin? And Sensei? What was going on?

"Why…am I so old, Kakashi?"

* * *

Karura was gasping by the time the two stopped running. They were deep in Konoha's forests, and the sun was drifting far below the trees. The sky was darkening quickly, the only light being the last few scarlet rays from the setting sun.

"My mother is going to kill me for that." Karura managed to get out between gasps for air. She noticed that Mikomi didn't seem to be breathing heavily at all. She couldn't help but be envious of the younger girl. But at the same time, she wasn't envious at all. Mikomi was always so cold and silent—and Karura had thought they were friends. She wondered if Mikomi just treated everyone like this. But she had gotten her to open up quite a bit—she'd even spoken, at least, it counted as speaking.

So maybe Mikomi wasn't too bad, even if she never talked and didn't like playing normal kids games. But that was fine, since Karura didn't like playing kids games either most of the time. Shogi was definitely not a kid game. She frowned a bit, before sitting down against one of the trees. "Now what do we do?"

Mikomi merely sat down a few feet away, and closed her eyes, shrugging.

"Are you going to meditate?"

A nod.

"Oh." Karura muttered, before she looked up at the darkening sky again. "Man, you can't see the clouds at night…"

Snap.

She tensed, even as she saw Mikomi's eyes snap open. She strained her senses, and felt a small flicker of chakra in the forest around them. She froze, paling, eyes wide. Someone was out in the forest with them! And it wasn't their parents or Ino!

Mikomi put a finger to her lips, and her face was calm for the most part as she silently made her way to where Karura sat. She crouched down and grabbed Karura's hand, before writing out a message.

_There are five of them. I don't know who they are. They're strong._

"Can we outrun them?" Karura whispered, and suddenly cursed herself for running away in the first place. She and Mikomi never should have left her mother and Ino-san!

Mikomi shook her head. _If we run they'll hear us._

Karura nodded. "We have to hide then."

_They will sense our chakra. We can't hide it well._

Karura swallowed, and she felt tears well up at the corners of her eyes. "I want my mom."

Mikomi looked down at her hands, and Karura saw that she was just as scared as she was. She just hid it better. _Our parents should be in the area. We have to find a way to alert their attention and keep the shinobi from getting us._

Karura looked around the clearing, and gave a small, tentative smile, even though she felt like crying. "Ok…I have a plan."

* * *

When the five shinobi emerged into the clearing, it was deserted. They all frowned, eyes narrowed as they looked around.

"I swore I sensed two chakra signatures out here." One of them muttered, looking perplexed.

"They're here." Another hissed, a female. She tugged the end of her headband, which was tied around her wrist. The last few rays of dusky light reflected off the metal, illuminating the village symbol.

Cloud.

"Come on out, brats. We know you're here." Another yelled out into the semi-darkness. All of the cloud-nin looked to be Chuunin level or higher, and this one seemed to be the leader. He was thin and wiry, with a trim black beard and cold eyes.

"Where are the little punks?" One of them grunted, a large man with a mace on his back.

"Don't know. But they're in the clearing somewhere." Another bit out, before he spotted a flicker of movement in the trees to his right. "Ha! Found 'em!" And he lunged forward, the others following. "Time to die, kid!"

It was a little black-haired girl, who leapt out of the bushes and ran past him, surprisingly him with her speed. "Hey!" The others tried to grab her, but she ducked beneath the large ones' legs and did a summersault, before leaping back into the middle of the clearing, getting into a fighting stance.

The shinobi all grinned, looking down at her as they surrounded her. "You're pretty fast kid, but you're also stupid. You should have run when you had the chance. And where's your friend?"

And the man made to step forward—before his eyes widened in shock. "What the…I can't move!"

The second girl seemed to materialize out of the shadows, giving a small smile, her hand holding a sign that all of the cloud-nin recognized. The child was a Nara. They looked down to see shadows binding their bodies to the ground, holding them in place.

"Now, Mikomi, while they can't move!" Karura yelled out, gasping. She couldn't hold these people for more than a minute or so. She had only used the shadow possession jutsu a dozen times at most, and the only reason she had the ability to hold five strong shinobi down at the moment was because of the waning light from the sunset, as well as the bright moon overhead. If a cloud or something got in the way…they'd be dead.

Mikomi merely nodded, before she launched herself into the air. She pulled something out of her pockets, and then threw what she'd been holding, sending the thin projectiles straight for the trapped ninja.

All of the cloud-nin put up their arms to block the attack—and blinked when nothing hit them. They looked around to notice nothing more than an array of twigs and sticks—the child had probably torn them off of the tree branches earlier. And all the sticks were stuck in the ground around them, not one of them had even hit the shinobi.

They all laughed, looking up at the little girl who was still floating in the air, before gravity began to pull her back down. Before she went, however, she grabbed something from behind her and threw it, giving a small smile of triumph as the last stick landed in the middle of their group.

They looked down—and their eyes widened as the activated exploding tag detonated—along with the others that had been attached to the twigs she'd thrown earlier.

The force of the explosion sent Mikomi flying backwards. She let out a gasp, knowing she was going to hit a tree sooner or later. But she was proud of her jutsu, as she named it in her head, the one she'd seen her mom use once. _Sakura fubuki no justu!_ Only she hadn't had kunai to throw, unlike her mother. But she'd stolen the exploding tags from her mother's weapons pouch…just in case.

As she continued to hurtle through the air, smoke and dust filling her senses, something grabbed her. At first she panicked, thinking it was one of the shinobi.

"Mikomi. Calm down."

Mikomi's eyes widened. It was her father! She looked up to see that it was indeed Uchiha Itachi holding her in his arms, his gaze stoic, his crimson eyes glaring into the darkness. Beside him Temari appeared, holding onto a shaking and pale Karura.

Sakura leapt down from the trees in front of them, her face panicked. "Mikomi! What happened?"

Mikomi said nothing.

Ino came out of the darkness a second later, her gaze serious. "I just dealt with the four cloud-nin that survived the explosion. One of them was already taken care of."

"What did you do, Miko-chan?" Sakura whispered.

Mikomi merely held out her last remaining explosive tag.

* * *

When they got back to the house, Mikomi was sent to her room. She had never seen her mother angry at her before, and it scared her. She had expected anger from her father, but not her mother. And she had never expected…that kind of disappointment in her eyes either.

_"Why would you run away like that, Miko-chan? You were told to stay with Ino and Temari! You could have been KILLED? Do you understand that?"_

Mikomi leaned against the wall of her bedroom, clutching her teddy bear tightly.

_"It's DANGEROUS out there Mikomi! You aren't strong enough to defend yourself! What if we hadn't come? Those other Cloud-nin would have killed you and Karura! You endangered your friend too, Mikomi!"_

She clenched her eyes shut and bit her lip. She hadn't meant to hurt anyone…

…and now…because of her…her mommy and daddy were fighting too.

* * *

"I can't believe she did that." Sakura whispered, pacing around the room. Kisame had went to bed earlier (after a threatening glare from Itachi for letting Mikomi out of his sight), and Sasuke had just arrived to give them the report on Sasori. The other Akatsuki member was still being held at the Konoha military police prison.

Sasuke was currently sitting down at the table, drinking a cup of coffee. When he'd heard of the attack he'd been furious as well, worried about Mikomi. But she was safe, and now he calmly listened to Sakura's worried rantings.

"You should not have let her leave the house."

Sakura whirled around to glare at Itachi. "Don't you DARE blame this on me, Itachi! She was perfectly safe with Ino and Temari! Besides, who is the one who taught her to be self-reliant and to always keep to herself, hm?"

"If she were not self-reliant, she would not have been able to defend herself at all." Was Itachi's calm reply.

"She used MY jutsu, Itachi, not yours." Sakura bit back. She deflated suddenly, and her anger seemed to do the same as she slumped down into the seat beside him. "I just…I was so worried…let's not fight about it. There's nothing we can do to change it. It's a good thing she was with Karura. Without her, Mikomi may not have been able to use the jutsu at all." Sakura didn't want to think of that possibility.

"Hn." Itachi grunted. "Your Konohagakure friends have proven to be ineffective in everything they do." Beside him, Sakura and Sasuke both stiffened.

"Mikomi needs her friends." Sakura whispered, eyes narrowed. "And without them, she would be dead right now. Don't ever forget that, Itachi."

"She will not associate with them." Itachi finally murmured, after a tense silence.

"Why not?" Sakura asked, eyes narrowing from where she sat beside him at the table. "What is wrong with her making friends?"

"They're a weakness."

"Don't ever say that." Sakura hissed, standing. "I told you to never say things like that to me, Itachi."

Sasuke looked from his brother to Sakura. He had a feeling that a similar conversation like this had come up in the past.

"You know that it is true."

"Mikomi doesn't have to be a shinobi!" Sakura yelled out, standing, forcing the chair backwards. "She doesn't have to be the perfect little child that YOU want! She's her own person and if she wants to have friends and become a civilian or anything else than she can and I won't let you ruin that for her."

"Sakura—"

"You know that bonds can be strengths, Itachi. Why are you so afraid of her making friends?"

"Hn." Itachi stood as well, and began walking towards the door. He stood in the doorway, and gave her one glance backwards.

"Konoha is full of hypocrites. I will not have my daughter associate with people who are worse than trash."

"TAKE THAT BACK!" Sakura roared, fists clenched. "Don't you ever say that!"

Sasuke had stood as well, his Sharingan blazing.

Itachi looked from one to the other, and then left the room.

Sakura stormed out after him, telling Sasuke to stay behind as she threw the door open and ran down the hallway towards her husband's retreating figure.

"Don't turn you back on me, Uchiha Itachi!"

* * *

Mikomi held her doll tighter, trying not to cry. Why were mommy and daddy so mad?

It was her fault, wasn't it?

* * *

"There is nothing else to say."

"The HELL there isn't! I don't care what you've done in the past, Itachi, but I think it's about time you make up for your mistakes!"

* * *

She'd never heard her mommy yell at her daddy before. It was so scary…she wished Uncle Deidara was here. He could make them stop fighting…

* * *

"No."

Sakura lifted up her hand, as if she were going to strike him, even as angered tears filled her eyes. "Itachi…" But she merely looked away, ashamed at herself for her outburst and angry at Itachi for his stubbornness.

They'd reached their room, and Sakura followed Itachi inside silently. He stood at the window, and she looked down at her hands.

"You need to make amends." She finally murmured. His past hung over them, like a curse, and she would not let it hurt Mikomi in any way. His hatred for Konoha was making everything difficult.

"No. I do not."

Sakura frowned, turning to her husband. "Itachi…"

"I have no need to apologize for a deed well done."

"Itachi!" Sakura balled her hand into a fist. "Don't you dare say that again. Take it back."

"No."

"I am not asking you to do this for me, to make me look better in front of others." Sakura spoke softly. "I am asking you to do this so that Mikomi will not be looked upon with such hateful eyes…the kind that follow us everywhere."

"Then perhaps you should not have brought her to Konoha."

"Itachi!"

"It is a village full of hypocrites, Sakura." Itachi spoke coolly. "They preach forgiveness and strength and standing up for what is right…but they do not follow through with their promises. Do not deny it."

"No one can be perfect."

"Hn."

"Itachi…"

"No matter how much anyone does for them, no matter how much you sacrifice for this village…it will never be enough, Sakura. It is never enough." He finally whispered, and Sakura wondered if he was even talking to her at all, before he left, leaving her standing alone in the room.

Sakura stumbled over to the bed, brushing tears from her eyes as she went. She grabbed the only thing at hand, from where it sat on the dresser beside the bed. She ran a hand over the picture's edge.

_Why…why can't it be like this for us, Itachi?_

She looked down at the smiling faces and all she felt was overwhelming sadness.

_Why can't we be this happy?_

She heard a shuffling sound and stood, before sliding open the door to her right. Mikomi stood in front of her, looking sheepish at being caught, but also worried.

Sakura knelt down, and gathered the girl in her arms. "Miko-chan…it's ok. Your father and I aren't really mad at each other."

She said nothing, just like Sakura had expected.

Sakura finally smiled softly at the young girl through her tears, before she stood and took her hand, pulling her along. "Come on, Miko-chan, I have something to show you." She sat Mikomi down on the edge of her bed, before she sat beside her.

She pulled something out of the folds of her yukata. "Your uncle gave this to me. I wanted to show it to you. This is your otousan's family." She held the object out.

Mikomi held it in her hands, and could only stare in surprise. That couldn't be her otousan and her uncle! And who was the pretty lady? Was that her grandmother? Her grandfather looked stern. Her eyes flickered thoughtfully as she noticed that the edge where her father was had been cruelly torn off…and someone had lovingly taped it back.

Sakura had kept the worn edge of the photograph even after Sasuke had ripped it away. And when Sasuke had given her the picture…she'd made sure that the picture was perfect before showing it to Mikomi.

She then placed the picture next to one of team seven and one of team Kakashi on the side-table beside the bed. She had placed the other pictures there a few days earlier, to try and make the room seem…homier and more comforting.

"I put these pictures here because they're your family now too, ne?" Sakura smiled brightly down at her daughter.

Mikomi nodded, although she looked unsure.

"And we'll add more pictures as the family grows. Just wait, you'll make your own precious friends too."

Mikomi shook her head. Her father didn't want her to have friends.

Sakura seemed to read Mikomi's thoughts and she merely held her daughter close. "You father didn't mean that. Your father…Konoha has done mean things to your father before. He doesn't like them very much. But that's ok, ne? We can still like people here. Not everyone in Konoha is bad, just like not everyone in the Akatsuki is bad, right? So please…don't be afraid to make friends."

Mikomi merely held onto her teddy bear tighter. Her mother stood up from the bed and Mikomi heard her rummaging around for something. Then the comforting creak of the bedsprings echoed in the room as Sakura sat down beside her daughter once more.

Mikomi didn't look up, just buried her face in the teddy bear's fluffy stomach.

"The Mirror of Matsuyama."

Mikomi blinked, looking over towards her mother and seeing the all-too-familiar storybook sitting in her lap. She could still hear the tears in her mother's voice as the pink-haired woman tried her hardest to hide it.

"In ancient days there lived in a remote part of Japan a man and his wife, and they were blessed with a little girl, who was the pet and idol of her parents. On one occasion the man was called away on business in distant Kyoto. Before he went he told his daughter that if she were good and dutiful to her mother he would bring her back a present she would prize very highly. Then the good man took his departure, mother and daughter watching him go.

At last he returned to his home, and after his wife and child had taken off his large hat and sandals he sat down upon the white mats and opened a bamboo basket, watching the eager gaze of his little child. He took out a wonderful doll and a lacquer box of cakes and put them into her outstretched hands. Once more he dived into his basket, and presented his wife with a metal mirror. Its convex surface shone brightly, while upon its back there was a design of pine trees and storks.

The good man's wife had never seen a mirror before, and on gazing into it she was under the impression that another woman looked out upon her as she gazed with growing wonder. Her husband explained the mystery and bade her take great care of the mirror.

Not long after this happy homecoming and distribution of presents the woman became very ill. Just before she died she called to her little daughter, and said: "Dear child, when I am dead take every care of your father. You will miss me when I have left you. But take this mirror, and when 

you feel most lonely look into it and you will always see me." Having said these words she passed away.

In due time the man married again, and his wife was not at all kind to her stepdaughter. But the little one, remembering her mother's words, would retire to a corner and eagerly look into the mirror, where it seemed to her that she saw her dear mother's face, not drawn in pain as she had seen it on her deathbed, but young and beautiful.

One day this child's stepmother chanced to see her crouching in a corner over an object she could not quite see, murmuring to herself. This ignorant woman, who detested the child and believed that her stepdaughter detested her in return, fancied that this little one was performing some strange magical art--perhaps making an image and sticking pins into it. Full of these notions, the stepmother went to her husband and told him that his wicked child was doing her best to kill her by witchcraft.

When the master of the house had listened to this extraordinary recital he went straight to his daughter's room. He took her by surprise, and immediately the girl saw him she slipped the mirror into her sleeve. For the first time her doting father grew angry, and he feared that there was, after all, truth in what his wife had told him, and he repeated her tale forthwith.

When his daughter had heard this unjust accusation she was amazed at her father's words, and she told him that she loved him far too well ever to attempt or wish to kill his wife, who she knew was dear to him.

"What have you hidden in your sleeve?" said her father, only half convinced and still much puzzled.

"The mirror you gave my mother, and which she on her deathbed gave to me. Every time I look into its shining surface I see the face of my dear mother, young and beautiful. When my heart aches--and oh! it has ached so much lately--I take out the mirror, and mother's face, with sweet, kind smile, brings me peace, and helps me to bear hard words and cross looks."

Then the man understood and loved his child the more for her filial piety. Even the girl's stepmother, when she knew what had really taken place, was ashamed and asked forgiveness. And this child, who believed she had seen her mother's face in the mirror, forgave, and trouble forever departed from the home."

Sakura closed the book with a small smile, "See Miko-chan…everything always works out in the end! So you don't have to worry. Your father and I love you very much, and we just want you to be happy."

_Okaasan…_Mikomi couldn't understand the painful throbbing in her chest as she watched her mother try so hard to make her happy, even though she knew her mother was sad and hurting too.

How did she do it? How could her mother pretend to be happy even when everything was so horrible.

How did someone smile through their tears?

* * *

**(A\N: I'm REALLY sorry this too so long, once again. But I've been busy doing homework and I start school again tomorrow so…wish me luck! XD Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it. I'm actually not quite sure what will be in the next chapter…there are a few ideas I'm playing around with. :D But…hopefully it'll be worth it! And I'll throw in some ItaSaku love and\or fluff, since it's been so long since we've had any decent romance between the two of them.**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka**

**P.S. People have been asking for me to begin putting quotes\things at the bottom of my chapters again so…enjoy!**

**I have CDO. It's like OCD but all the letters are in alphabetical order like they should be.**

**(sorry if you don't find that funny, I do, but maybe that's because I have major OCD tendencies and my brother is EXTREMELY OCD, so it made me smile. XD)**


	14. Chapter 13: Shattered Trust

**(A\N: Hey everyone, I'm sorry it took so long to update. **

**However, I would like to point out that it's a little aggravating when my readers get mad at me for not updating fast enough for their liking. I don't mind the occasional, "Please update soon!" (those make me kind of happy to know that you guys love the story :) but when people start getting **_**mad**_** because I haven't been able to update and blame me for it, it makes writing the next chapter that much harder. I have a life, unfortunately, and it revolves around my education. I find that just a little more important than these stories. Some people seem to think I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. This is my final year of high school. I'm constantly studying for my IB and AP Exams, taking the SAT (including the Subject tests for French and US History) a few more times, and applying for scholarships and to college. And I have around 5 hours of homework each night. And that isn't even counting my already dwindling social life that I am trying to keep alive. It's not easy, but I'm trying to my hardest. Also, I update by a schedule, for those who think I am favoring one story over the other. I just updated Shades of Grey and Crimson Reign because I hadn't updated those for a very long time. Then Di Yu, then Shisui. That's how it goes. I don't mean to sound bitchy, but I just want some people to understand that I try my hardest to get these chapters out to you, but I have a lot going on in my life at the moment, and that takes precedence. Thank you.**

**But anyway…you guys don't want to hear me rant. ;P So here's the chapter, with it's nice ItaSaku fluff that you've all been waiting for!)**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

**Shattered Trust**

* * *

Emily will find a better place to fall asleep  
She belongs to fairy tales that i could never be  
The future haunts with memories that i could never have  
But hope is just a stranger wondering how it got too bad

I die each time you look away  
My heart, my life will never be the same  
This love will take my everything  
One breath, one touch will be the end of me

You could be the final straw that brings me back to earth  
Ever-waiting airports full of the love that you deserve  
Wishing i could find a way to wash away the past  
Knowing that my heart will break, but at least the pain will last

I die each time you look away  
My heart, my life will never be the same  
This love will take my everything  
One breath, one touch will be the end of me

Emily will find a better place to fall asleep  
Maybe she will save me in the oceans of her dream  
And maybe someday live  
Maybe someday live  
Maybe someday live

Love Song Requiem by Trading Yesterday

* * *

_Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart walking around outside your body._

—anonymous

* * *

It was two in the morning when Itachi arrived home. Kisame was asleep, and Sasuke had gone to his own home long before Itachi's arrival. He could hear the soft breathing that signaled Mikomi's slumber. A water clock in a house plot nearby thumped rhythmically. Crickets chirped softly in the silence.

And he knew Sakura was awake.

He slid the door open to their room, and saw that she was lying on the bed. She was lying atop the covers, staring up at the ceiling. Her fingers were laced, hands resting on her lower stomach. She was wearing a sleeping yukata, and her hair fanned around her, in sharp contrast to the dark comforter.

The window was open, and as a few clouds moved aside, a glimmer of moonlight struck the left side of her face. A glint, and Itachi watched a tear make its way down a well known path on her face.

"Sakura."

She said nothing. She didn't flinch, or twitch, or acknowledge him at all. She merely took a soft breath, and exhaled slowly. He saw the small catch in her breath—a twitch of her shoulders and a pause as she breathed out—as she tried her hardest not to cry aloud.

She didn't want anyone to know she had been crying at all.

"Sakura."

This time she blinked, before giving a small sigh.

"What…do you want…?"

And he said the one thing she had not been expecting.

"I came to show you something."

Her brow furrowed in confusion, and she slowly sat up in the bed. The left part of the yukata slid off of her shoulder. She hurriedly brushed the last few tears from her face. "What are you talking about?" Her voice was gruff with emotion, as she tried to make herself sound indifferent.

He merely reached into his sleeve…and slowly pulled out a scroll. He looked down at it for a moment, and wondered why he had ever kept such a painful reminder of his past.

To show to someone else, he supposed…to prove that he wasn't quite the beast that he was believed to be.

So that someone could understand.

He handed it to Sakura wordlessly. She took it cautiously, weighing it in her palm. It was old, the paper was yellowed with age, and the edge of the scroll had small tears in the paper. The seal on it had been broken long ago, and looked as if it had been opened many times since. The seal itself, however, was what caught her attention. The scroll was an expensive one, elaborately decorated around the edges. It was the kind of scroll wedding invitations were written on. But the seal…was the official seal of the Hokage.

"What is this?" She whispered, because there was nothing else she could say.

"Read it." Itachi's order was soft, and almost hesitant. If he were anyone else, Sakura would say he was nervous. But this was Itachi, and that was impossible. She merely pulled a bit at the scroll's edge hesitantly, before taking a deep breath and unraveling it quickly.

She froze the moment her hand stilled, eyes widening in surprise.

The crickets chirped.

A gust of wind blew past the window, rattling the shutters. Sakura didn't notice. She didn't notice anything at all save for the words that glared up at her from the yellowed parchment. She didn't hear Itachi's level breathing, or catch the small hitch as he exhaled shakily—once, for even that minute show of weakness was too much for his pride.

A mission scroll.

It was an ANBU mission scroll.

**Rank: S**

**Date of Initiation: October 23**

**Objective: Eliminate the Uchiha Clan as a threat to Konohagakure**

**Details: On this night of initiation, ANBU guards will be patrolling the streets, but there will be a break in patrol shifts from seven thirty to seven thirty five. All Uchiha Clan members will be in the compound. All members must be eliminated before nine, when the ANBU patrol will near the compound. There can be no survivors.**

"Itachi…" Sakura whispered softly, before looking up at him, hands trembling, not wanting to finish reading, knowing what would be said. "What…is this?"

"My mission." He answered back, his own voice barely above a whisper. "My last mission as a shinobi of Konohagakure."

"I don't understand." She sat down on the edge of the bed—hard. What was he talking about? What was that mission scroll? …was it true? Her thoughts were muddled, and Itachi's voice seemed to be dulled and faint, as if he were talking underwater.

"The Uchiha Clan was planning a coup on Konohagakure in order to restore the power that they thought was theirs."

"You're lying." She hissed, because there was nothing else to say. She abruptly stood, and the scroll fell to the ground from her lap, and rolled a few feet away. As Sakura moved, her heel ground into the paper's edge, and she felt it tear. She didn't care. "How could you dare say that? Don't pull such a cheap trick, Itachi. What the hell are you thinking? Why would you—" But she stopped herself, clamping her mouth shut, too flustered and shocked and angry to go on.

Because she knew it wasn't a lie.

She wasn't the Hokage's former apprentice for nothing. She had seen the Hokage's seal so many times…and there was no way to duplicate it, not even for a prodigy.

It was real.

The mission was real.

_Oh god…_

"The Third and Danzou were suspicious of the Clan…and I became their double agent in order to affirm these suspicions and protect the village." Itachi continued, and his voice was still soft. He took a step towards her and she took a step back, the corner of the scroll crumpling under her heel.

She saw something in his eyes as she backed away from him, refused to be near him. It was almost a look of hurt, but not really. Not betrayal, just a mixture of the two that had been watered down, because Uchiha Itachi never feels hurt or betrayed, only indifferent and apathetic.

How could this be? Had he lied to her all this time?

No…_Konoha_ had lied to her all this time. She stared down at her shaking hands, and her sight blurred with tears that never quite fell from her eyes. What was this? What was this feeling in her chest? Worse than when Naruto and the others had hated her and believed she was Masako. She felt…as if her heart had been ripped from her chest.

She had been fooled. Tricked. Betrayed.

Betrayed by the village she loved so much. How could they be so barbaric? She let out a shaky breath.

"The Hokage did what was needed to be done for the security of the village." Itachi murmured, as if he could read her thoughts. She jumped a bit at his voice, meeting his gaze before looking down again, still shaking, face pale.

"Who ordered you to kill Shisui?" She finally asked. "Did Konoha tell you to murder your closest friend as well…just so they could have the full power of the Sharingan before they completely wiped it from the earth?" There was scorn in her voice, and Itachi accepted it.

He did not answer, and that was answer enough.

"I can't believe…that my village has lied to me for so long." For some reason...the fact that Itachi had lied did not faze her as much. Itachi's life was full of secrets and mysteries, one more secret was no surprise.

"I told them to keep it a secret."

Sakura blinked, staring up at him in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"Sasuke would never have been trusted by the village…if they had known that our father was leading a revolt against the Hokage."

"You…did it for Sasuke…?" She whispered, and her voice cracked. She could almost see it, see Itachi standing calmly in front of Sarutobi and Danzou and the Elder council, petitioning for the life of his brother that he loved more than anything.

That he _loved_. Sakura hadn't been sure Itachi was capable of the emotion, even with her. She looked up into Itachi's cool gaze. No…not anymore. Once, he had loved. Now, he felt nothing. He was a perfect shinobi now.

Konoha had made him the perfect shinobi.

"You…were supposed to kill them _all_, weren't you?"

…

…

…

"…yes."

Sakura smiled softly. "You couldn't do it then…couldn't kill him."

Itachi shook his head.

"I see." Sakura whispered, and her hands continued to tremble, but she didn't know if it was shock or excitement now. "It was a mission…all a mission."

"I was meant to destroy the clan and be labeled a missing-nin. It was my intention to join the Akatsuki so that we could gain information on the organization."

Sakura could see it now. A lost young boy—even if he was a prodigy—trying his hardest to protect what he loved. In her mind's eye she watched him become corrupted. She watched him grow cold and callous to humanity and the hypocritical actions of the very village that he cared for so deeply. She watched him become the man he was now…and it made her want to cry for him.

Because she knew he would not cry for himself.

"I hate them."

Sakura nodded. "I…" And at that moment, she realized that she hated them too. They had abandoned Itachi. They had made him into a broken man. They had twisted him into the perfect tool for their use. They had used him, made him believe that he was doing it for his village, the village he loved and cared for.

Itachi watched Sakura's eyes darken as she stared down at her hands. He knew that she was processing it all, trying to make sense of it. He saw anger and fury flash in those deep emerald orbs…and he knew that the anger was not directed at himself. He wondered how many times he had harbored that identical look deep down inside of him.

It was true, in the beginning, he had known what would happen. He would be hated by all, be seen as a traitor and hunted down by all of Konoha. But he hadn't cared. He had been protecting his village and his brother and that was all that mattered.

He had joined Akatsuki…and he had grown up. He'd watched Konoha from afar. He had seen the corruption, and he couldn't help but bitterly see his brother and think _that could have been me_ even when he knew that it was his own choice. His village had forced him into the mold of a perfect shinobi and that was what he had become. He had followed the Hokage's orders without question. And what had it gotten him?

Pain, suffering…he would never forget the look in Sasuke's eyes. But he had known what he must do. He had to make Sasuke strong…strong enough so that he would never be controlled as Itachi had been. To not allow himself to become a tool for some hypocritical bastard that would toss him aside the moment his usefulness had run out.

Itachi knew that deep down…deep down he still cared for his village. He had lived for Konoha for so long, he was unable to hate it. The innocent villagers, the few ANBU members that he had known during his missions…they were the people that had kept him going, kept him from drowning in his pessimistic view of humanity and its inevitable descent.

He hated the fact that he still loved Konoha. Every day, ever hour, he had recited the shinobi mantra in his head. _A shinobi must keep emotions on the inside, no matter what the situation. You must make the mission the top priority, and you must possess a heart that never shows tears. _He had ground it into his being until he lived it. And yet…he could never follow it completely. He had been doing it so well…until Sakura and her ANBU team burst through the forest ahead of them so many years ago.

Itachi still wondered why he had done what he had to her. And he realized…that he had done it in spite. Konoha. The village he hated and loved so much. He wanted to hurt someone like he had been hurt. He had wanted to watch as someone's innocence was stripped from them, piece by painful piece…

…and he was never more ashamed of an action in his whole entire life.

He had thought he would never feel guilt or shame. They were such base emotions, such simple, foolish feelings.

But he did not regret. Never, he would never regret. It had brought her to him.

Shame and regret were so very different, after all.

"Itachi." Her voice was soft, hesitant, and it broke him from his reverie. Itachi could only look at her. There were no tears in her eyes now, they were soft, her face gentle. Her hair hung limply around her shoulders, and she had pushed the edge of her yukata back over her shoulder. But he could see the inner turmoil in his eyes, the hatred and betrayal that flashed in those brilliant absinthian depths.

She had been the only person to prove him wrong. He had thought she would be broken. He had wanted to see her become like him, in a sick, twisted way. He had wanted to show Konoha what they had done to him…show them the monster they had created.

And she had proved him so very, very wrong.

She had fought him, screamed at him, laughed, loved…she completely disregarded the most important shinobi rule…had completely disregarded all that Itachi had known. She had shattered him, in a sense. His life, his ideals…they had been disproved. She had stormed her way into his life—stomping and smashing with that inhuman strength of hers—and had shown him that no matter what…there will always be a good side to humanity. Somewhere…there will be good.

Hope.

…his daughter…

…_their_ daughter.

She had given him back his humanity.

She placed a hand on his shoulder, running her fingers along the creases in his shirt. "Itachi…Konoha needs to know the truth."

He stepped back from her. "No."

Her brow furrowed. "What do you mean?" She crossed her arms over her chest, anger mixing with confusion.

"Konoha must never know the truth." _Sasuke must never know the truth._

"_Why_?"

"If the truth were known…Sasuke would be hated and distrusted. People would believe he was merely another Uchiha traitor. Konoha would hate him." _And he would hate himself._

"Itachi—"

"I will not allow it."

"I won't allow you to be thought a traitor any longer." Sakura snapped. "You deserve this!" _Konoha has tainted you. I won't let you die as a traitor. I won't let them win. I won't let this sick game continue. You will get the honor you deserve._

_You lived as a Konoha shinobi._

_You will be honored as one._

"What will you do?" Itachi asked calmly, even as he bent down and picked up the ripped scroll and began rolling it back up.

"I will tell everyone the truth." Sakura bit out.

"All of the people who knew of the mission are dead." Itachi answered back. "No one will believe you."

"The scroll—" Sakura began, but was cut off as it slowly withered to ash in itachi's hands, sifting through his fingers.

Sakura could only stare in shock for a moment. Itachi...had just destroyed his one chance at redemption. His only proof of innocence. Why…would he do something like that? And then anger flooded through her; righteous, defiant anger.

"Dammit Itachi! I don't want you to be seen as the enemy anymore!" Sakura screamed.

"Whose conscience will be cleared? Mine…or yours…?" Itachi asked softly. Because he could not stop from being the villain. He was so good at it, after all…and he could not stop living his own lie. And he wanted so desperately to never speak of this again. He should have known better. He had brought it up, and now he would pay the consequences.

But he had wanted her to understand so badly…to have someone who would understand.

There was a long moment of silence, as Sakura merely stared at him, her breathing harsh and labored.

"What…did you just say…?"

Itachi hadn't known that so much hurt and pain could be audible in a person's voice.

Sakura stood with her hands clenched, gritting her teeth. Her hair covered her eyes, but he could see the tears running down her cheeks. "Who…the hell do you think I am!?"

"Sakura—"

"What the FUCK kind of question is that, huh?" She screamed at him. "How DARE YOU say something like that to me! I love you! I loved you before I ever knew about that mission. How could you—you bastard—I guess you never knew me at all!" And then she rushed out of the room.

"Sakura—"

"I HATE YOU!"

The home filled with silence, as he heard the front door slam shut as well. Kisame's snoring didn't cease, nor pause. There was a soft shuffling outside the room…and Mikomi poked her head inside, looking worried.

Itachi merely walked to the door and looked down at her. "Go back to bed." He ordered softly, before he made his way down the stairs and out of the house.

* * *

She found herself in a small alleyway between two of the Uchiha homes. She sat herself down on an aged crate, one she wasn't quite sure would hold her for long. It creaked as she sat, but seemed stable enough when she slumped back against the wall.

She wrapped her arms around herself, and sobbed.

How could Itachi think she would do this to make herself look good? Did he think she wanted to look like the hero? She only wanted the lies to stop.

She wanted Mikomi to be able to be proud of her father without enduring hate-filled glares. She wanted…she wanted so much.

She wanted Konoha to pay for what they had done to him.

She wanted Itachi and Sasuke to become the loving brothers they had once been.

She wanted Konoha to acknowledge that Itachi had never been a traitor, but the most loyal shinobi that had ever lived.

She wanted Itachi's love and realized now he was too broken and tainted to give it.

Long ago, before the massacre…he had been capable of love. _Never again_, she wailed silently—_never again_! And she let out a loud, heart-wrenching sob, as tears flowed down her cheeks. She realized, absently, that she had cried more these past few days than in the past three years combined. She had thought she'd gotten over her tears.

A cloud that had covered the moon shifted in the sky, bathing the alleyway in a soft silver glow. It reflected off of a puddle near Sakura's foot—yes, it had been raining earlier, hadn't it?—and Sakura saw her own reflection before the moon was covered and she was plunged back into darkness.

She lifted a hand and brushed a few tears from her cheeks. She looked at the wetness, rubbing it between her fingers…and couldn't help but give a small smile, even as she sobbed…because a memory flashed through her mind, and she couldn't help but wonder how she hadn't seen the truth before.

_Sakura let out a groan, easing herself into a chair at the table, hands knuckle-white as she supported herself long enough to slump down onto the seat rather ungracefully. She leaned back, neck resting against the chair's back._

_Her hand went to her swollen stomach, and her eyes closed as she smiled softly. She didn't think she'd ever get over the wonder of having a life growing inside of her. Every time the baby moved or kicked, Sakura was left breathless. _

_"You should be resting."_

_Sakura blinked, looking up to see Itachi standing in the doorway. She smiled, "I was hungry."_

_"Hn." Itachi walked past her and opened a cupboard, pulling something out. Her back was to him, but she knew he was making them something to eat._

_"You know…" Sakura ran her hand over her stomach, looking down at the swollen mound fondly. "I haven't really wondered what she'll look like, you know? I guess I've just expected she'll be dark-haired and dark-eyed, like you."_

_"Hn."_

_"But…" Sakura grinned. "I think it would be really funny if she was born with pink hair."_

_There was a soft thunk as a cup hit the countertop behind her. _

_"That is impossible."_

_Sakura rolled her eyes. "It's very plausible that she could be born with pink hair! I'll have you know that it's actually a dominant trait in my family and—"_

_"If he is born with pink hair," Itachi murmured, "it will be dyed. No son of mine will have pink hair."_

_Sakura gave an exasperated sigh. "I already told you it will be a girl. You need to stop sulking and accept the facts."_

_Itachi said nothing._

_"Besides, what's wrong with a boy having pink hair? My great uncle had pink hair and he was a respected shinobi in Konoha."_

_"Dyed…or he will be shaved bald."_

_Sakura couldn't help but laugh. "You're not shaving my daughter's head, Itachi."_

_"Our _son_ could never be considered a man if he were to have pink hair._

_Sakura blinked, before looking down at her stomach thoughtfully. Itachi…had said 'our'. No matter that he'd said son instead of daughter—really, he was just in denial—the fact that he said our…made warmth spread through her body and a smile spread across her face._

_And that was when the baby began to kick, just as Itachi placed a bowl of steaming noodles on the table. "Here."_

_He took a step back, heading back to the counter to get his own bowl. But Sakura reached out and grabbed his arm. "Hold on! She's kicking!" She put his hand to her stomach, grinning._

_Itachi's face was cool and emotionless like always. Then Sakura felt the baby kick again, right where Itachi's hand was placed. The strangest expression crossed his face, though Sakura doubted anyone else would be able to see it or interpret it. _

_But his eyes…the way he looked down at her stomach, where his hand was placed…made her want to laugh and cry at the same time. Slowly, ever-so-slowly, as if he were afraid to hurt either of them, Itachi took his hand away. He sat himself down at the table beside her, and silence reigned._

_Finally, he spoke. _

_"He has a strong kick. He will be a good fighter."_

_Sakura couldn't help but burst into laughter, even as Itachi gave her a nonexistent pout as she teased him in between mouthfuls of noodles._

How could she have not realized that gleam in his eyes before? She hadn't been able to place it then but now…she should have realized the truth sooner. Itachi had cared…and perhaps…perhaps he could care again.

Sakura gave a soft sigh. Yes, Itachi could love Mikomi…but never, never could he love her. She doubted it was possible for him to love her, because she was a reminder of Konoha and the betrayal and hate that came with such things.

She felt him come to stand beside her before she heard him. She couldn't see in the darkness, but his sandals crunched on the gravel, before he stepped in front of her. She wouldn't look at him, merely stared down at her lap.

"Sakura."

She shook her head, sniffling. "Don't talk to me. I hate you." She mumbled under her breath, barely audible.

"Look at me."

She wouldn't. She squared her shoulders and staed at her lap with renewed interest. His hand came beneath her chin and gripped it firmly. He then tilted her face upwards, so that she was forced to look him in the eye. Her emerald eyes were hardened and determined, ready for a fight.

"…I apologize."

There was a long moment of silence.

Sakura blinked.

What…had just happened?

She blinked again.

He had…just apologized?

Their foreheads were pressed against one another. She stared up into his eyes, the tears still falling down her cheeks.

"Why?" She whispered. "Why?"

"I'm sorry."

"How could you—"

"It doesn't matter." His voice was emotionless as always.

She bristled in anger. "Of course it does you fucking—" But she was stopped as his lips pressed against her own. Her eyes closed, and she could only let out one final sob as his hands, infinitely tender, brushed against her cheeks, wiping away the tears.

His lips were soft, not hot and demanding like she was so used to. As if he needed to be gentle with her in fear that she would break.

And all Sakura could think of…was that perhaps Itachi still had room in his heart to love her too.

And the tears finally stopped.

Itachi buried his face in the crook of her neck, his nose nuzzling against her throat. "Sakura…" He whispered huskily against her skin, his breath hot. It sent a thrill through her, as heat began to settle in her stomach and she was painfully aware of the way her mouth felt dry and every place Itachi had touched her.

Sakura lifted a hand and began tangling her fingers in his hair. "Itachi…" She whispered back, pressing her cheek against his head, closing her eyes.

"…let's go home."

* * *

**(A\N: I hope I explained Itachi's reasoning well enough. In my opinion, I could see what Kishimoto was getting at with Itachi being good but…like in my story, I don't think that a person can stay like that in the environment Itachi was in. I think Itachi would grow bitter and hate his village for what they had done to him as he realized they had used him. It is human nature to always blame someone else, even if we chose the path ourselves. Itachi chose to become a traitor, but he still blames Konoha for it and hates them for it because to him, it is their fault. So…my Itachi…was good, became **_**tainted**_** and turned into the evil Itachi we all know and love…and then Sakura changed him back, though he can never be the kind, loving, loyal boy he once was. He's been tainted and he'll never get that innocence back. But…that's my explanation. :) I know, I know...it was just getting to the good steamy part too. :P sorry guys and gals, but I maybe sometime soon. :D I hope you guys liked it…and I'm sorry if this chapter sucks, since I did it quickly so I could get it out to you guys.**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	15. Chapter 14: Personal Definition

**(A\N: Yeah, if you guys think YOU'RE surprised at this update, I'm SHOCKED. I was having a crappy day\week and suddenly BOOM I'm hit with inspiration! So here's the chapter...but don't expect the next one soon, unless I'm attack by the writing bug again. XD**

**RC: I think you made a mistake in this chapter, because in Maelstrom, Itachi did  
not know about the baby, but in the flashback in this chapter, he knew about  
it...**

**But anyways, I love this story and thanks for updating.**

**A: Actually, this is after Sakura has been pregnant for a while, thus the large bulge in her belly. Itachi didn't know about the child when Sakura was first pregnant, but he did know about it later on. The flashback would have been after Maelstrom ended, before the Maelstrom prologue where Mikomi was born.**

**Q: Wouldn't Sasuke have heard everything if he was at the house?**

**A: Actually, Sasuke is at his own home in the compound. Sakura, Itachi, Mikomi, and Kisame live in a different home. The only other people in the house were Kisame and Mikomi. Kisame was dead asleep (probably drunk, knowing him, ne?) and we all know that Mikomi woke up. But…did she hear anything? That will be found out later.**

**Anyway...enjoy!)**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

**Personal Definition**

* * *

She awoke to the feeling of being enveloped by warmth. At first she thought it was from the sunlight filtering through the open window. A gentle breeze blew passed, making her bangs tickle her face. She swiped them away lazily, and blinked, just then realizing that the sunlight was not what was warming her.

It was the naked body lying close to hers. His breath was warm against her neck, his arm holding tightly around her waist, as if afraid to let her go. Sakura smiled softly, before closing her eyes again and snuggling closer to Itachi. She heard him give a small grunt in response—she already knew he had been awake before her, he always was—and that merely made her smile grow.

She couldn't help the sense of…contentment that washed over her. There were no more great secrets between them now. Her brow furrowed a bit as she reached up and brushed her fingers against the band around her forehead. No, she supposed there would always be secrets. But there were no secrets that were holding them at arm's length anymore. There was nothing to separate them.

She felt as if she and Itachi could finally truly be what she had always wanted. She knew he wasn't going to change. He would always be Itachi and she didn't expect any different. She had fallen in love with the cold, torn man he had always been and she would continue to love the man he had become.

Itachi shifted beside her and let go of her waist, before he began to trace designs across her back, between her shoulder blades. She gave a small murmur of pleasure, keeping her eyes closed. She was tempted to fall back asleep. She knew, however, that there was work to be done.

"What are you planning to do today?" His voice was soft and emotionless like always, but she almost felt as if she could hear a note of tenderness there that she hadn't heard before. Was it because it had not existed…or had she been deaf to it because she had never believed it was possible?

"I'm going to visit my grandmother." She murmured sleepily. "And then I was thinking that we could take Mikomi to the park to play."

"Hn." An agreement.

"What about you?" She yawned, beginning to stretch beneath the soft sheets, her legs brushing against his.

"I am going to talk with Sasori."

"Ah," Sakura opened her eyes, slowly sitting up. The blanket pooled around her waist, and she stretched again, arching her back, arms raised above her head. She noted Itachi's gaze lingering on her bare chest and smiled slightly before placing her hands in her lap. "What do you think Konoha is going to do with him?" There was a small hint of bitterness in her voice, and he knew why.

If Sasori had sided with them in the beginning, there would have been the chance of Deidara surviving. They would have taken on Madara long enough to escape with his help.

"He knows more of Akatsuki's inner workings than I do." Itachi assented. "Konoha will find that information valuable."

"Do you…think he can be trusted?" Sakura asked softly, before reaching for the brush on her bedside table. She began to run it through her hair, waiting for him to speak.

He seemed to be choosing his words carefully, as silence reigned. But it was not uncomfortable. Finally, he spoke, "Sasori will do whatever he can to save himself. He chooses his sides based on how expedient it is for himself."

Sakura's brush caught a tangle, and she tugged a bit on it. "If that was true…why would he side with Konoha? What would he gain from that?"

"He could be working as a double agent." Itachi answered, before closing his eyes. "But, truthfully…I do not know the reason that Sasori has chosen Konoha over Akatsuki. There is nothing to be gained from such an alliance."

And then he opened them once again, and charcoal met absinth.

"And that is why I believe he can be trusted."

* * *

"Good morning Miko-chan!" Sakura called out as she walked into the kitchen. Mikomi was sitting in a high-backed chair at the table, swinging her legs slightly as she stared at the empty bowl in front of her. She looked up at her mother's call, her gaze worried.

Sakura merely smiled gently at her as she knelt next to the chair. She reached up and smoothed an errant lock of Mikomi's hair. "Don't worry Miko-chan…everything is fine now. Your father and I aren't angry at each other anymore."

Mikomi could see the truth and emotion shining in her mother's eyes, and she felt relief well up inside of her. It almost made her speak, but instead, she merely gave her mother a nod and a tentative smile. Sakura stood and patted her on the head.

"Now, Miko-chan, where did Kisame go? And why didn't he get you something to eat before he left?"

Mikomi shrugged, a sign Sakura took as "he left before I woke up" and she merely sighed. "Well, he probably went to the police station to talk with Sasori. Your father is heading there right now."

Mikomi nodded.

Sakura placed a pot of hot green tea on the table and two cups. Mikomi began to pour it for them both, as Sakura began their breakfast of steamed rice, miso soup, and tamagoyaki. Mikomi looked over at the empty places at the table with a small frown.

Where was her uncle Kisame? And hadn't her uncle Sasori come to Konoha? Was he good now…or was he still bad? But then again, Mikomi had never believed he was really _bad_. Uncle Sasori had always been afraid of trusting other people. Mikomi thought maybe it was because he was afraid of being hurt by losing someone precious to him.

She supposed that was how her father had been a long time ago, before he had met her okaasan.

Mikomi gave a small smile as she reached for the half-finished crossword puzzle lying at the other end of the table. Contrary to popular belief, her uncle Kisame liked challenging word games. He was very fond of things like this, and it seemed as if he had been finishing this one up before he'd left in the morning.

"Oi." Sakura muttered, spotting the mostly-empty coffee cup sitting next to the crossword puzzle, another sign of Kisame's earlier presence. "I swear that man doesn't know how to clean up anything." And as she took it to the sink Mikomi thought she heard her mother muttering something along the lines of "that idiot, he probably downed all that damned coffee because he had a stupid hangover".

As her mother placed her breakfast in front of her and began eating her own, Mikomi couldn't help but think how…normal it all seemed. It was strange to think of her family as being normal, because she knew it was anything but. Her parents and uncles were—_had been_—members of the infamous Akatsuki. But seeing her mother smiling as she brooded over her plans for the day over a cup of tea, and the almost-finished crossword puzzle made Mikomi think…that maybe in Konoha they could all be happy.

Mikomi began looking over the crossword. There was only one space left—she'd thought there were more empty spaces earlier. She looked it over, before filling in the answer for 38 across, pushing it back to the middle of the table with a satisfied smile.

"Miko-chan, I'm going to go visit my grandmother. Do you want to come?" Sakura finally asked, seeing Mikomi's smile and breaking her out of her thoughtfull daze.

Mikomi blinked, before shaking her head.

"Alright. Do you want to go and play with Karura-chan?"

A nod.

Sakura grinned. "Alright! I'll drop you off on my way to the Haruno compound."

Mikomi saw the pain and hurt in her mother's eyes at the mention of the place. Mikomi wondered why her mother would subject herself to that kind of pain and suffering by the people that had once cared about her so deeply.

And she knew the answer, even as she finished eating her breakfast in silence.

Love.

* * *

"What do you know about Uchiha Madara's plans?" Ibiki asked coldly.

Sasori's eyes flickered in annoyance. This was getting pointless. He was not a normally patient person, and this was taking far too long for his liking.

"I have already told you what I know, Morino-san."

Ibiki's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Che." Came a voice from behind him, and they both turned to the person leaning against the wall. "If Sasori says that's all he knows, then it's probably true. Madara and Leader both had a habit of keeping important information from their subordinates, even high-ranking ones."

"I don't believe I asked for your opinion, Hoshigaki." Ibiki ground out, before standing. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his black trench coat and began walking to the door. He turned to the other person in the room, who was, like Kisame, leaning against the wall, "He is, however, correct. I couldn't sense that he was lying, after all of the tests we have done on him."

Sasuke nodded. "Very well."

Ibiki left, and the room became uncomfortably silent.

The door slid open again, and Sasuke stiffened slightly, eyes narrowed in his brother's direction. Itachi ignored him for the most part, turning to Kisame. "Well?"

"It's up to your brother now, I guess." Kisame shrugged. Itachi turned to look at his younger sibling and Sasuke blinked. Itachi seemed almost...peaceful. He still wore his emotionless mask, but it seemed softened now, less harsh and cold. His eyes were a soft dark grey, and there was no hatred there as he looked over at him. It made Sasuke slightly uncomfortable.

It looked as if some great burden had been lifted from his brother's shoulders.

"It isn't up to me." Sasuke finally grunted, "The Council will decide whether he lives or dies. He has given us all the information we need."

"What have they decided?" Itachi asked softly, looking over at the red-headed puppet master.

"Until they come to a complete decision, he will be held at the Uchiha compound." Sasuke muttered, "so that I can keep an eye on him."

"Damn." Kisame grunted. "Our house is getting smaller by the second."

"Hn." Itachi merely turned towards the door. "Kisame, I will meet up with yourself and Sasori later."

"Where are you going?" Sasuke demanded harshly, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"It is hardly your concern, little brother." And with that, Itachi left.

* * *

"Kakashi! Everything looks so different!" Obito exclaimed for about the thirtieth time since their departure from the hospital. He was wearing a borrowed outfit from Kakashi's apartment, and was grinning from ear to ear, taking in everything with a childlike sense of wonder.

Then again…he was, in his mind, still a child.

Kakashi's gaze softened as he looked over at his old friend. It was actually refreshing, to know that Obito was the same Obito that Kakashi had always known. Obito reached up and ran a hand through his hair, before blinking and giving a frown. "Hey, Kakashi…where are my goggles?"

...

"We'll get you a new pair."

Obito gave him a curious, confused glance before he nodded. He expected it was one of those things he would just have to accept. One of the many 'changes' that had happened during his absence. Kakashi had tried to explain some of it to him before they left the hospital.

Like the fact that the Uchiha Clan was destroyed now. It should have hurt Obito more than it did, he supposed. But Obito had never really been valued by the Uchiha Clan. He had been weak, and so he had been deemed unimportant.

A failure.

His mother and father had died on a mission while he was in the academy, and he had no siblings. His only other close relation had been his aunt, who he had lived with after his parents' death. She had been the epitome of an Uchiha, and had wanted nothing to do with him. She kept him in the house because it had been his father's (her brother's) wish. As long as he had kept out of the way he had been ignored for the most part.

When Kakashi had told him of the revelation, Obito had merely nodded mutely. It had been the least of his worries. The worst had come later…when he had asked about the whereabouts of Rin and their sensei.

Rin was dead. She had been killed on a mission when she was 19. She'd been one of the field medics during a dangerous skirmish with the last bit of Stone forces in the area. She'd healed all of her mission partners and had been low on chakra…and had died from a cut by a poison tipped kunai. She hadn't had enough chakra to extract the poison herself.

How painful had her death been? Slowly dying of poison…had they killed her to stop her suffering, or had her teammates tried to rush her back to Konoha to save her? Kakashi hadn't known the details, and so he could only shrug when Obito asked.

Obito had cried, of course. He had loved Rin more than anything. But she had been unobtainable, always looking at Kakashi, never seeing him. She had been blind to him till the end…except that Kakashi said she wasn't as blind as Obito thought. Ever since the day Obito had died, she had closed herself off…she hadn't tried to get Kakashi's attention. They had been teammates, nothing more. She had told him once, "It wouldn't be right. I couldn't care for him back then like I should have. I owe him my loyalty, at the very least."

She hadn't loved anyone else but him, in the end.

It only made Obito cry more.

And then…Kakashi had told him about their sensei, and the sacrifice he had made for their village. It was this topic that had led to Obito wanting to go see the memorial stone. And it was this topic that led to their current stroll through Konoha's streets to get to said memorial stone.

"So, Kakashi, you haven't told me about what happened to _you_ after I um…died." Obito finished lamely, scratching the back of his head with a small, sheepish grin.

Kakashi couldn't help but grin back, even if it was hidden behind his mask. "Well, I became ANBU for a while…then I decided to become a sensei."

At this Obito snickered. "You? A _sensei_?"

Kakashi pouted a bit. "Of course! And well…I was given Team 7."

"Hm?"

"The most annoying, accident-prone, frustrating team of all." Kakashi mused allowed, and his voice sounded more proud than annoyed. Obito raised an eyebrow at that. Kakashi wasn't the type of person who liked those kinds of things.

"And I've never been more thankful for being their sensei. They taught me a lot, those three."

"Who were they?" Obito asked as they made their way out of town and through the forest. It was quieter here, the only sound being their footsteps and the chirping of birds.

Kakashi was silent for a moment, before answering him in a soft, almost pained voice. "A genius who was too much like me, a blonde knucklehead who beat the odds at ever turn…and a pink-haired girl who kept us all together."

"Eh?" Obito blinked, as he saw the dry smile beneath Kakashi's mask. Pink hair? Did he mean the woman in the hospital?

"Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto…and Haruno Sakura."

"Haruno Sakura…" Obito murmured, more to himself than to Kakashi. "The name seems familiar. Is she…the one at the hospital?"

Kakashi nodded. "Sakura is a genius medical ninja, trained by thelegendary Sannin Tsunade. She saved your life." Obito was about to ask more, but it was at this time that they entered the clearing where the memorial stone stood.

They walked up to it slowly, and Kakashi saw that Obito seemed almost afraid. He swallowed, before crouching down and running his fingers along the hard edge of it. His hand stopped, and he brushed his thumb against a name. "Minato-sensei…"

His brow furrowed in confusion, however, as he saw his own name engraved on the stone. "Kakashi…?"

But Kakashi didn't answer straight away.

"…you have no idea…how long I stood here, staring at this stone and cursing myself for my weaknesses."

"_Kakashi_…"

"I hated myself…because I could never protect those I loved. But you're here and I wonder…if this is my second chance to make things right, Obito. And I promise, that this time, I'll protect you and all my precious people with my life."

Obito turned to him, and Kakashi saw tears in his eye, but they never fell. He merely gave a large grin, "Don't worry Kakashi. I know…that you'll definitely keep your promise!"

Kakashi merely reached out and grabbed Obito's outstretched hand. They shook, and he gave a nod.

"Yeah."

They both let go, and Obito turned back to the stone. "I wanted to ask. I saw…I saw Haruno Sakura's name on the stone too. Why?"

"…there was a time when…it was believed she was dead, like you."

"Oh."

They lapsed into comfortable silence once again.

"What about your other students?"

"Well, Uchiha Sasuke is the head of Konoha's Police Corps and is the Hokage's bodyguard." Kakashi mused, before giving a rather mishchevious grin, knowing that Obito was going to freak with what he heard next.

"And well, my other student is the Hokage." He finished offhandedly.

…

…

…

"WHAT?" Obito wailed. "No way! Ah Kakashi-_teme_…you're students are the coolest! That's no fair! If I'd become a sensei my team would have been sooooooooo much cooler!"

Kakashi let out a chuckle, before placing a hand on Obito's shoulder. "Let's go to the Hokage's tower and get you reinstated as a shinobi and find you a place to stay, ok?"

Obito nodded. "Alright!" He stopped for a seond, frowning, even as they began walking back to the village. "Hey Kakashi…?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think we could go see Haruno-san?"

"She's younger than you are, you don't have to call her Haruno-san."

"Eh? But it's so _weird_ thinking of her as being younger than me! And you didn't answer my question!"

"Oi." Kakashi sighed, "I suppose we can go see her. Why do you ask?"

Obito became quiet. "I…I feel like I remember her from somewhere else. She was really nice and…and I think I've done something bad to her." He looked pleadingly at Kakashi. "Have I?"

"I…" Kakashi stopped, because he wasn't really sure what to say.

"I want to apologize…for whatever I've done."

Kakashi nodded slowly. "Alright. Let's go."

* * *

Sakura's earlier cheerful attitude began to disappear as she walked down the streets of Konoha. She tried her best to ignore the villagers' whispers, but it was becoming exceedingly difficult. All she wanted was for Konoha to accept her family…and that was looking like it was impossible.

"…she married Uchiha Itachi you know…"

"The traitor? Well, that makes sense. They've both betrayed Konoha before, after all…"

She bit her tongue—hard—to keep from saying something she would regret. She wanted to tell them that Itachi was not a traitor. She wanted to scream at them that he loved his village more than any of them. She wanted to yell that he had given more for his village, sacrificed more than they would ever hope for, just to keep them safe. She wanted so many things…

But most of all…it made her respect Itachi even more. He allowed himself to be hated to protect those he cared about. He never wavered from his chosen path, never doubted his decision…

And at the same time it made her increasingly angry at his stubbornness.

"That man will be the death of me." She muttered to herself, almost rolling her eyes as she smoothed the edge of her dark gray yukata—with the Uchiha symbol on the back, of course—and turned off on a side street in the direction of the Haruno compound.

Several shinobi who were standing outside a restaurant glared as she passed, and she saw their hands go to their weapons. She unconsciously pressed her hands to her obi—a bronze one, with images of golden koi fish on them, a gift from Ino—and was comforted by the feeling of the kunai she had hidden there.

She was infinitely grateful that she'd dropped Mikomi off at the Yamanaka flowershop before she'd decided to visit her grandmother. If Mikomi had been there, and had been subject to these cruel glares, no doubt she would have attacked the shinobi. No one had a right to look at her daughter with such hateful eyes. No one.

But she merely brushed a lock of hair from her face and kept walking, head held high, ignoring the threatening stares. She was Uchiha Sakura, and she wasn't afraid of some two-bit shinobi who thought they could intimidate her.

She reached the Haruno compound quicker than she had thought possible. She supposed it was because she had been dodging evil glares the entire way and hadn't paid much attention to how long she'd been walking.

She stopped in front of the large gates, gazing at them with a small amount of longing. She remembered when she had once ran through them, laughing, into her father's arms to tell him that she had passed the Chuunin exams for the first time. She had told him first…because she had wanted his approval the most of all.

_Otousan…_

"What are you doing here?"

She blinked, looking up to see a man with long red hair standing at the gate. It was tied back in a ponytail, and his eyes were the color of cinnamon. He was regal looking, and wore a traditional outfit. A sword hung at his waist, and a Konoha headband was tied to his arm.

"I'm here to see my grandmother." She announced, and she continued to stare at the man, because she couldn't help but think that she knew him. He was of the Haruno clan, obviously, but that didn't mean much. There were several members of the clan that she had never met before, or had only seen at a glance.

"I think you should leave." He stated coldly, and Sakura could hear the loathing in his voice clearly. She stiffened, before her eyes narrowed.

"I am here to see my grandmother." She repeated. "And there is nothing you can do to stop me—"

"What's going on?"

It was her father, standing in the middle of the street. He had apparently been out, and judging by the large scroll in his hand, he had been getting his weapon refurbished at the weapon shop owned by Tenten's father. He always carried his trademark ax in that scroll.

"Otousan." Sakura nodded her head at him in greeting, trying to smile. She had to be nice…for Mikomi's sake. She wanted Mikomi to know her grandfather, and she wanted her to know a grandfather's love.

"This…woman…wanted to come visit Haruno-sama." The way the man said 'woman' made the word sound vile.

Sakura saw something flash in her father's gaze. His demeanor softened a bit as he looked over at her. "Sakura," It was almost a gentle tone he spoke to her with, which worried her slightly. "You cannot see her."

"Why?" She demanded, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "What's wrong with her?"

"You…don't know…?" Came the soft voice of the man who had first opened the gate. His gaze was troubled, and it never left her.

Lord Haruno looked to Sakura, before turning to the young man. He sighed. "Go back to your home. I'll handle this, Dayu."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock and recognition. "…Dayu…kun…?"

He didn't meet her eyes, only turned away. "Of course, Haruno-san." And then he disappeared back into the compound before Sakura could say anything else.

Sakura was silent for a moment. "I see…so Dayu-kun hates me now too?"

"Can you blame him?" Her father's voice was gruff, but still, it lacked the hatred she had become so used to.

His voice broke her from her thoughts, and returned her to the matter at hand. "Otousan…what is wrong with my grandmother?"

"…she's very sick."

Sakura froze, eyes wide. "What do you mean 'sick'?"

The wind blew passed them, rustling their clothing, tearing leaves from the cherry tree by the compound wall. They swirled around them, before falling limply to the ground as the wind died.

"She's dying."

"Then I need to go see her _now_. I'm sure I can help. I'll—" Sakura began frantically, taking a step forward.

"She said that nothing can help her now. Tsunade-san has been keeping her death at bay for over a year now. The treatments have stopped having any affect. I'm sorry."

"No…it's…it's not true. I need to see her!" Sakura yelled out, panicking. She suddenly understood…why their last parting had seemed so final. "Please!"

"I'm sorry."

"I have to see her!" And she pushed past him.

"Sakura!"

She only made it three feet inside of the compound before she was stopped. She was grabbed from behind, her father's hands locked on her arms. "Let me go!" She yelled out, trying to jerk out of his grasp.

"Sakura." His tone was stern, implacable.

"No!" She shook her head furiously. She wanted so badly to use her strength to push him away, but she felt as if her strength was drained. The only person in her entire family who still loved her…was dying.

"No." She whispered, slumping to the ground. Struggling seemed pointless now…because she knew there was nothing that could be done. She slowly looked up, and through tear-filled eyes saw Dayu standing in the street, watching her. His gaze was shocked, as if the sight of her tears surprised him. Had he thought…that she was so evil now she could no longer care for her family? Was that what her father had told them all?

"Otousan…" She closed her eyes, willing the tears away. Only one escaped, and slid down her cheek.

He didn't speak.

"Please…tell me…when it happens." She half expected him to say no, or to deny her the right to come to her grandmother's funeral. But he merely helped her stand. She turned to look at him with weary, tired eyes, and he gave her a nod.

"I will have a messenger come to the Uchiha compound." He then held out a scroll, "Your grandmother asked me to give this to you. You are to read it in private."

She nodded sullenly, taking it.

"After the funeral, you are to come back to the compound for a reading of her will."

"You're cruel, to speak like that." Sakura whispered, "besides, I doubt I will get anything, since I am no longer a member of the clan."

"What she gave to you will go to your daughter. She has been recognized as your child."

"She doesn't need your recognition." Sakura finally wrenched out of his grasp. She whirled around, placing the scroll in her obi and clenching her fists tightly. She wanted so badly to hit him then.

"Sakura." His voice was soft once more, the voice of the man she had once loved and admired.

"What?"

"I'm sorry." He meant it.

"Me too." And so did she.

She didn't look back as she left the compound and headed into Konoha's streets once more.

* * *

Sakura didn't really think about where she was headed. She let her feet take her where she needed to go, and found herself heading towards the Yamanaka flower shop. Yes, it would be good for her to go there. She needed Ino's comforting presence at the moment. Ino's grandmother had died when she was young, and so she had become the adopted granddaughter in the Haruno family. She would share in Sakura's grief, no doubt.

Sakura managed to compose herself before she entered the busier part of Konoha. She wouldn't let these people see her looking weak. They thought little of her already. She wasn't going to give them another reason to whisper about her behind her back.

"Sakura?"

She blinked, before giving a small smile as she saw the two people standing in front of her. "Oh, hello Kakashi-sensei, Obito-san."

Obito blushed at being called 'san' and Kakashi sighed, "I told you not to call me sensei anymore."

Sakura grinned. "I know, but you always make that face when I say it, and it's hilarious."

"Oi. Impudent little brat." He muttered fondly, reaching out to ruffle her hair. She pouted at him, trying to smooth the locks back into a semblance of order when he was finished. She turned back to Obito, "Obito-san, how are you feeling today?"

"Fine." He whispered, but his gaze was uneasy. "Sakura-san…"

"Yes?"

"I wanted to apologize."

Sakura's brow furrowed. "For what?"

Obito swallowed, before he rubbed the back of his neck, looking distraught and frustrated. "I…I've done something bad to you, haven't I?"

Sakura's eyes widened in shock, before she looked down at her feet, gaze half-lidded and sad.

_Deidara…_

As Madara, he had killed him. If he hadn't been alive, Madara wouldn't have been able to take his body and use him to ruin the lives of so many others.

Anger welled inside of her like a wild beast, roaring to be released. She wanted to yell at him. She wanted to tell him exactly what he had done and make him hurt.

And she was ashamed because of it. She sighed softly…and finally…let go. Today seemed to be full of revelations for the weary kunoichi.

"You did nothing wrong, Obito-san." And she smiled at him, even as tears filled her eyes. "So there's no need to apologize."

Obito knew it was a lie.

* * *

The room was devoid of any light, save for the flicker of a candle on a desk at the far end of the room. It case a gloomy, faint glow in the expansive space, and Konan shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She preferred to be outside, rather than confined to this place. She felt as if she could barely breathe here.

She merely fiddled absently with a piece of paper. The person sitting beside her leaned back in his own chair, casually taking a sip of his tea. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, then went back to her paper folding as he caught her gaze.

Pein merely took another sip of his drink before nodding his head at the man kneeling in front of him. "Report."

"Of course." Zetsu began calmly. "We have complete control of Stone at this moment."

"**Cloud, however, has yet to give their answer to your message. They're taking their damn sweet time about it."** His other half finished darkly.

"The Raikage will side with us." Madara answered back coolly from the other side of Pein. His form was shadowed, and not completely solid yet. Konan was still wondering how it was possible for him to survive in this form. "He does, after all, want the Hyuuga secrets too badly to ally himself with Konoha."

Pein nodded. "Indeed." He looked down at his cup of tea, before giving a smirk. "He had best make his decision soon. Hidan and Kakuzu have already left to begin their mission…to destroy Konoha from the inside out."

* * *

The door to the flowershop opened, and the bell rang as it did so. Ino looked up with a smile, "Welcome to the Yamanaka—Sakura!" Her grin widened as she leapt over the counter and ran up to her best friend.

"Hi Sakura." Temari greeted with her own grin and a wave. She was leaning back against the counter, twirling a flower in one hand. The other held Yashamaru, who was reaching for the flower, giggling. Sakura waved back with her own smile, before giving Ino a hug. The hug was longer than usual, and Ino realized something was wrong.

Her brow furrowed, "Sakura…are you ok?"

Sakura nodded slowly. "Yeah…I'll tell you later, ok?"

Ino looked doubtful but gave her own nod. "Ok…"

Sakura felt a tug on her slacks and looked down to see Mikomi standing there. Her arms were full of sunflowers, and she looked hesitant, but hopeful.

Sakura knelt down to look her in the eye. "Hello Miko-chan! Those are beautiful. Where did you get them?"

"She and Karura were helping me in the shop today." Ino supplied. "For all their hard work, I let them pick out a flower. Not many people want sunflowers, so I let Mikomi have a few of them."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "a few" was more like a dozen of them, it seemed. Sakura merely grinned down at her daughter. "Is that so? Well, if you want, we can replant them in our garden at home. Would you like that?"

Mikomi nodded.

"Alright," Sakura laughed, patting her on the head. "We can do that later tonight, alright?"

"Hey Sakura." Temari began, and the pink-haired woman turned. "I'm taking a group of young academy students out into the forest today. We'll be having a lesson on poisonous herbs and how to handle them. I was wondering if maybe Mikomi would like to go."

Sakura looked to her daughter. "Well Miko-chan?"

Mikomi looked thoughtful for a moment, before she gave a small shake of her head.

Sakura shrugged, "I guess not Temari. Sorry."

Temari waved it off. "It's fine, it was just a suggestion." She blinked, looking down at her daughter, who looked a bit sheepish. "What is it, Karura?"

"I don't want to go either."

"What?"

"It's too troublesome." Karura muttered. "Some of the kids are really annoying. Besides, I already know about poisonous herbs from Grandpa Nara…and I don't want to listen to Yashamaru cry all the time."

"Your father is busy at the Hokage's office, and Atsuko is out on a mission. There won't be anyone at home to watch you." Temari argued.

"I can take her." Sakura suggested with a smile. "Itachi and I are taking Mikomi to the park later, and I'm sure Mikomi would love to have some company. The girls can have a little sleepover at the house."

Karura perked up at that, and she and Mikomi shared a small smile. That sounded like fun!

Temari nodded, "Alright, that sounds fine to me." She grinned, "Karura needs to make some friends, after all. It's good that she's found one."

Sakura smiled softly. "Yeah…I'm glad Mikomi found a friend too."

"Well, it's settled then." Temari announced, "I'm off to go pick up the little kiddies. Have fun, and be good, Karura!"

"Yes okaasan…" Karura muttered, even as her mother bent down and placed a kiss on her cheek.

Temari sent them all one last wave before she headed out the door.

"Well, I have to close up shop. I have to take over a class at the academy for Iruka-san today." Ino began, undoing her apron.

"Alright, we'll be leaving then, Ino-chan." Sakura nodded, before turning to the two girls with a smile. "Let's take those flowers over to the house and put them in water. Then we can go to the park, ok?"

* * *

"Come on kiddies! Keep up!"

"Maa…" One of them groaned. "Are we there yet?"

"We've been walking _forever_." Another whined.

"Oi, oi…" Temari sighed, putting a hand on her hip. Yashamaru shifted in his pack on her back, cooing. "You complain too much. It's just over that hill."

The group of children let out exclamations of relief and joy at the revelation, and Temari gave a frustrated sigh. The entire trip had consisted of them asking how much longer it would be till they arrived. None of them seemed too thrilled with this trip in the first place. It was essential for graduation, though.

Temari, however, still wasn't sure why she had volunteered to take them at all. The usual instructor had called in sick for the day, and Ino, out of the _kindness_ of her heart, had told everyone that Temari would take over for her.

Really, Temari was going to strangle the woman when she got back. She hadn't known fifteen nine-year-olds could be so _annoying_.

She now remembered why she hated children so much. She could only hope Karura and Yashamaru wouldn't end up like this. Then again, Karura would probably find the whole trip too troublesome and just skip instead of going and complaining the entire way.

"Alright, here we are!" Temari called out as they entered the small clearing. Her relief was almost as big as the children's. They ran into the clearing, shouting and jumping.

"Watch out! Don't step on those plants over there! Those are the herbs we're going to be studying!" Temari yelled as she walked towards the small group. "Alright, we're going to take a lunch break."

"YES!"

"_Finally_."

"I'm _starving_!"

Temari merely gave another sigh and took Yashamaru from his pack, bouncing him on her hip as the children dug into their backpacks. One of the girls looked at her neatly packed bento thoughtfully, before putting it beside her on the grass. She looked shyly up at Temari. "Ne…Temari-sensei…?"

"Hm?" Temari blinked. "Yes?"

"Could I hold him?" She looked expectantly at Yashamaru.

Temari chuckled, before crouching down and holding the baby out. "Alright. Hold him like this. Your other hand has to support his head—like that, there you go." She grinned at the sight of the little girl, before standing. "Alright everyone, we'll eat for ten more minutes and then—"

She stopped, eyes widening as a chakra signature spiked to their left. She moved on instinct, pulling out her fan from its place on her back, unfurling it, and swiping it through the air in one swift movement. The large gust of wind screamed through the trees—and threw back the large three-bladed scythe that had shot out of the forest at the group. The heavy weapon landed on the ground with a loud thunk, all three blades digging into the grass.

"Man…now that's what I call a fucking weapon, bitch."

Temari's eyes narrowed, even as she recognized the first man who walked out into the open. He gave a tug, and his scythe found its way back to his hand. He grinned sadistically.

"Hidan of the Akatsuki." Temari hissed out, taking a step backwards. The children had gone quiet with shock at the attack, and were now whimpering, stumbling backwards into a tight circle.

"That's right, bitch." Hidan grinned, before pointing his scythe at her. "You'll be a perfect sacrifice."

"We aren't here to satisfy your religious lust, Hidan." Came a gruff voice to his right, as another cloaked figure stepped out of the trees. "We are here to make an example."

"Shut the fuck up, Kakuzu. You're always ruining my damn fun." Hidan snapped back.

Temari gritted her teeth in frustration. What was she going to do? She couldn't escape, because she had the children to protect. She needed to send for help. She needed to signal that she and her group were in danger but…how? She could only hope and pray that there was an ANBU patrol close by. If they sensed the chakra spikes from the oncoming battle—because Temari would _have _to fight these two until help came—then hopefully they'd come to investigate.

She breathed out deeply, before getting into a battle crouch.

"You should leave now." She called out, hoping her voice didn't waver. "A patrol of ANBU elite will be here any minute now. You can't defeat all of us."

Hidan grinned, but it was Kakuzu who answered. "There was only one patrol in this area. They are hardly what I would call elite."

"Che, they were fucking weak." Hidan leaned against his scythe. "And they didn't even survive long enough for me to finish my sacrifice."

Temari swallowed, even as her stomach dropped. What was she going to do now? She turned to the children. Most were still frozen in fear, staring at the Akatsuki members in horror. "Everyone, go to the far side of the clearing and stay there!"

They slowly broke from their stupor and did as they were told, scrambling over themselves to get away. Temari turned her attention back to the two Akatsuki members. "I won't let you harm them."

"You can't protect them if you're dead." Kakuzu commented, before both he and Hidan disappeared.

Temari whirled around, swinging her fan, "Great Cutting Whirlwind Technique!" Kakuzu went flying through the air, slamming into a tree and snapping it in half.

"Nice move, kunoichi." Came a voice to her right, and Temari cursed, folding her fan and throwing it up just in time to block Hidan's attack. The sound of metal hitting metal echoed. She heard one of the children scream. She swallowed, noticing that one of his blades was mere centimeters from her neck. She pushed back, landing a few feet away, racking her brain for a strategy.

Shikamaru had told her about their abilities. He had witnessed them first hand, when the two had almost killed his sensei Asuma. It had only been thanks to the arrival of both Sakura and Ino at the time that he survived. It had taken both of them to keep the man alive.

She couldn't let Hidan get her blood, and if he did, she had to keep him from forming his special jutsu circle. He was immortal, so nothing she did was going to kill him. Incapacitating him wouldn't work either, not until she killed Kakuzu. Otherwise, the other man would merely sew him back together.

She would have to kill Kakuzu first then. She gave a small nod, before turning to see Kakuzu stumble out of the woods, looking murderous. Hidan grinned, turning to him, "The bitch got you good, eh Kakuzu?"

"Shut the fuck up." Kakuzu snapped, before rushing towards her again. Hidan lunged from the other side. Temari leapt into the air, pushing off on her fan to give her extra leverage. Once she did so, she unfurled her fan quickly.

She just needed to keep as much distance between herself and Hidan as possible, and destroy as many of Kakuzu's hearts as she could in a few moves. She built up her chakra in her arms, sending it into her fan as she gave a battle cry.

"Wind Release: Severing Pressure!"

The sky darkened, and both Kakuzu and Hidan cursed as a large tornado surrounded them. They were both caught in it, and Temari landed on the ground beside the pillar of wind, getting ready for her next attack.

"I just have to send Kamatari in there to finish Kakuzu off and then—" She was stopped, however, as a large scythe shot out of the tornado. She let out a curse as she leapt backwards, ducking low as she went.

Her shoulder hit the ground and she rolled a few feet before pushing herself up. She let out a small hiss as she looked at left her arm—and the large gash in it that was gushing blood. She paled, and her eyes widened as she saw the crimson liquid dripping from Hidan's blade.

"NO!" She shouted, leaping forward, but she wasn't in time as Kakuzu threw Hidan out of the cyclone. The other man landed on his feet, and tugged on the end of his scythe before Temari could reach it. He glared at Kakuzu, who had finally escaped the whirlwind as well. "You didn't have to fucking throw me that damn hard!"

"Shut up and begin your ritual." Kakuzu ordered gruffly, before leaping forward towards Temari. She grabbed her fan, and ignored the pain in her arm. She had to get passed Kakuzu. She had to get to Hidan before he finished the ritual. She had to…she had to or she was going to die.

"Summoning jutsu: KAMATARI!" She shouted, swiping her fan, letting out a scream as blood splattered across the ground from the wound in her arm. There was a puff of smoke, before the weasel appeared, swinging its scythe. It swiped its blade, and the slicing wind hit Kakuzu squarely, slicing through his stomach and sending him careening into the trees.

Now! Now she just had to get to Hidan! The coast was clear. She leapt forward, fan in hand—and doubled over with a gasp as blinding pain erupted in her stomach. She slumped to her knees with an anguished cry, dropping her fan.

She looked down at the growing red stain on her kimono, and her hands trembled as she pressed them to her stomach. She slowly looked up…and saw the pike that was sticking through Hidan's abdomen.

"N…oooo…" Temari moaned out, before she felt darkness begun to consume her, as Hidan wrenched the pike from his stomach. She let out another cry as a second wave of pain hit her. She tried to call out to the children, to tell them to run, but she found that it was becoming hard to think. She began to fall, and the last thing she heard before she hit the ground was Yashamaru's piercing wail.

* * *

"We're back!" Sakura exclaimed with a grin, tugging on the two girls' hands. "Let's go inside and get ready for bed."

"Alright." Karura nodded with a smile, while Mikomi nodded.

"Hn." Itachi merely walked behind them, followed by Kisame and Sasori. The two had met them on their way back from the police station, and Kisame informed them that Sasori was going to be staying with them as well. Apparently he wouldn't be put under ANBU guard as long as he was within the Uchiha compound. When he left it, however, he would be watched at all times. The Council and the Hokage were still trying to decide a fitting punishment for him.

"Do you two want to sleep in Mikomi's bed?" Sakura asked the two girls as they headed into the house, "Or do you want to sleep in the living room? I can get some blankets and pillows out of one of the guest rooms."

Karura and Mikomi shared a glance, and Karura spoke, "We'll sleep in Mikomi's room, Sakura-san."

"Alright." Sakura nodded with another smile as they entered the kitchen. "Let's get you something to drink first—" She was stopped from continuing by a shout from Kisame.

"Hey! Someone finished my crossword puzzle!" Kisame frowned a bit as he picked the sheet up. "It was the only one I couldn't get."

"What was it?" Sakura asked curiously.

Itachi took a quick glance over Kisame's shoulder and noticed the childlike handwriting. "Hn." He began walking out of the room, but stopped as he neared where Mikomi stood with Karura. He patted her on the head, "Good work." Before he left.

Sakura grabbed the paper after Itachi's strange response, and let out a small laugh before she placed it back down. "You're so smart, Miko-chan! But it's time for bed. Come on, we have to get an extra pillow from the closet for Karura-chan."

She grabbed both Mikomi's hand as well as Karura's and led them out of the room, while calling back a cheerful "Good night!" to the others.

Kisame merely shook his head, grumbling as he walked out of the room. "I'm gonna get some sake. Can't believe that little kid got the only one I couldn't figure out."

Sasori was left alone in the room, staring at the paper that had now been placed on the table. He gave a small smile, his dark eyes going over the hastily scrawled letters. The hint was one word: sacrifice. And there, written in Mikomi's childlike, yet nearly flawless handwriting, was the answer.

Hecatomb.

It wasn't the correct answer that surprised him, of course. It was the two words that had been hastily scrawled on the side as well, next to the hint. Two words…that made his heart ache when he had thought he was immune to pain. Two words…

Love.

Deidara.

And in Sasori's mind, he couldn't help but feel that Mikomi's first two definitions for the word were much better choices than the correct one.

* * *

**(A\N: I don't know how it happened…but I was struck by sudden inspiration and viola! I hope you guys liked the chapter. I hope that you caught all the small hints at the title throughout the chapter. In the next one, we'll find out what happened to Temari, and we'll also have a scene with Naruto, since he hasn't gotten much love lately. I know you are all BURNING with questions. Where did Itachi go to before he met back up with Sakura? Who is Dayu? What is in the scroll that Sakura's grandmother gave her? What is going to happen to Temari? You'll just have to find out! Until then, see ya!**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	16. Chapter 15: No Bravery

**(A\N: Wow so…before I begin telling you that I'm sorry this chapter took so long…I want to tell you guys about an AMAZING book I read. It's called The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. It's amazing. The emotions that it evokes are just…beautiful. It is currently my favorite book of all time. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys deep-thinking stories.**

**But, you guys didn't come here to listen to me rant about amazing literature…you came to read. ;P**

**And yes…I know Naruto hasn't got much love, but he's been stuck in political meeting after political meeting. I personally hate politics, and I didn't think you guys wanted to have to read through a long explanation of them –shivers- and I certainly didn't want to write it. But since the war is taking a more 'active' turn, you can believe we'll be seeing a lot more of him. So lovers of Naruto, don't worry. :D**

**P.S. This chapter may make you cry. I cried writing it. T_T**

_**Dedication: I learned recently that a fan of my work passed away from cancer. She would have my stories printed out to read. That kind of dedication and love for my work makes me smile, and I wanted to dedicate the rest of Shisui, the only story she was unable to fully read, to Bertha. Rest in peace**._**)**

* * *

There are children standing here,  
Arms outstretched into the sky,  
Tears drying on their face.  
He has been here.  
Brothers lie in shallow graves.  
Fathers lost without a trace.  
A nation blind to their disgrace,  
Since he's been here.

And I see no bravery,  
No bravery in your eyes anymore.  
Only sadness.

Houses burnt beyond repair.  
The smell of death is in the air.  
A woman weeping in despair says,  
He has been here.  
Tracer lighting up the sky.  
It's another families' turn to die.  
A child afraid to even cry out says,  
He has been here.

And I see no bravery,  
No bravery in your eyes anymore.  
Only sadness.

There are children standing here,  
Arms outstretched into the sky,  
But no one asks the question why,  
He has been here.  
Old men kneel and accept their fate.  
Wives and daughters cut and raped.  
A generation drenched in hate.  
Yes, he has been here.

And I see no bravery,  
No bravery in your eyes anymore.  
Only sadness.

* * *

**Chapter 15**

**No Bravery**

**

* * *

**

The room was deadly silent, as the two small bodies huddled together on the large bed.

"It's really quiet here." Karura finally whispered, staring up at the ceiling.

Mikomi nodded.

"At my house, it's always loud. Yashamaru is always crying, or aunt Ino is barging in to tell my otousan he has a mission." Karura continued softly. "It's nice, a lot less troublesome than at home."

Mikomi shrugged, before sitting up a bit, frowning.

"What is it?"

Mikomi shook her head, before reaching for Karura's hand. _Why were the cloud shinobi in Konoha?_

Karura blinked, before sitting up as well. "I don't know. Cloud and Leaf are enemies. My dad says they've been trying to get something from the Hyuuga Clan for a really long time."

Mikomi bit her lip, green eyes darkening in thought.

Karura noticed her friend's contemplative gaze. She didn't know why Mikomi was thinking so hard on it. After all, their parents were a _lot_ smarter than they were, and were no doubt already coming up with a reason for the cloud-nins' appearance.

Then Mikomi cocked her head to the side, looking over at the dark shadows in the corner of the room. She shivered unconsciously. They reminded her of Tobi when he was a bad person. Suddenly she blinked, and her eyes widened.

_Cloud is working with Akatsuki._

"But…what does Akatsuki want in Konoha?"

…

…

…

…_me…_

* * *

Sakura sat down on the edge of the bed, staring at the scroll in her lap. Kisame was asleep in his room, and Itachi had said he wanted to go and speak with Sasori. So that left Sakura alone…with the message from her grandmother.

Her fingers trembled as she slowly broke the seal.

_My dear little cherry blossom,_

_When you get this letter it means that I'm probably not here any longer. Or, at the very least, I won't be here long enough to talk to you in person. I wrote this letter…because there is much that I want you to understand. I know that this is comcing to you late, and that you have suffered greatly...but please listen to what I have to say._

_Your father never hated you, Sakura…please understand that. He loves you very much. But you are not what he expected. You took him by surprise, I think. He expected a meek little girl who loved dolls and dresses. When you wanted to become a shinobi…I was there that day. I remember your tears when you crawled into my lap and sad, "Baachan…I didn't mean to make otousan angry and okaasan cry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! What did I do wrong?"_

_I remember that day and I can remember the anger I felt towards your father for making you believe that any of this was your fault. You were only following your dream. But at the same time, my little flower, I understood your father perfectly._

_Your father had an elder brother. He was a great young boy, full of promise. Your father looked up to him very much. He was a star pupil, a prodigy on par with the Hyuuga twins and the Fourth Hokage. Your father… he just couldn't keep up. He felt like he always held your uncle back. _

_Your grandfather…I know he tried his hardest to treat them both equally, even though everyone knew that your uncle would do great things and your father would merely be…competent. _

_I am afraid to say that I am the one who wounded your father so greatly. I was the head of the Haruno clan then, you know. I had just inherited it from your great-grandfather. I was so proud of myself and my accomplishments. And that pride was my downfall…and that pride was what wounded your father so terribly…and killed your uncle…_

_I wanted the Haruno Clan to be the best. I wanted to prove that even without a kekkei genkai, we could rise above them all! Our perfect chakra control, our affinity for sealing techniques…these things…I thought they would make us great. I _wanted_ them to make us great. I snubbed your father because I thought he was in the way of that greatness._

_It was not intentional. But as I look back on it now, I know that I should have done things differently. It was always… "Benkei, he will be great. Oh yes, my other son…well, he is very smart, and very handsome. He shall find himself a good wife someday."_

_I realized that your father…he had become an afterthought to me. And when Benkei…when your uncle was killed on a mission protecting the fourth Hokage I…I said things that I regret. I did things that I will never forgive myself for._

_I remember looking at your father and thinking, "Why weren't you the one who died? Why not you?"_

_Everyone in the Clan was thinking the same thing._

_But I…I was the one who finally told him._

_It was at this time that your father left the Clan…and joined an organization that I know you are very familiar with, my flower. Your father became one of the founders of Root under Danzou. Your father knew I hated Danzou…and he felt as if by accepting Danzou's offer—because he only wanted to be accepted and I _denied_ him that!—he could finally become the shinobi that he wanted to be…that the Clan and Konoha wanted him to be._

_I didn't see your father for three years._

_When he returned…it was with his wife at his side and you, yes you little Saku-chan! You were nestled in your mother's belly! I remember looking at your mother and realizing that she was giving your father what I had failed to give. Love. Acceptance…_

_She was the one who convinced him to return._

_I…I was the one who apologized. But a wound like that can never truly heal. That kind of thing is never forgotten. Your father and I…our relationship was never the same. _

_We were distant with one another. I had wounded him irreparably, and I now had to face the consequences. But there was one moment when we came together again and I felt as if everything was going to be fine._

_The day you were born, Sakura. The look on his face was priceless. _

_When you were born…I had never seen so much pride in a man's eyes._

_You have your uncle's hair, you know. I don't know if anyone told you that your prodigious uncle had brilliant pink hair. It wasn't something he was proud of. _

_Sakura Haruno. Cherry blossom of spring._

_Your uncle loved cherry blossoms. I know you hated the name very much when you were younger. I myself didn't like it. Too generic. Too obvious. Why name a girl Sakura? Everyone named their child Sakura in those days. But when I looked at you for the first time…I saw why._

_You are a flower Sakura, a true blossom. But you were so delicate. Your father held you as if you were made of glass. He watched you grow, laughed with you, cried with you. He kissed you when you were sad or when you were hurt._

_He wanted to protect you so badly from the life that his brother had led. He did not want you to become like your namesake, to die quickly after blossoming._

_That was why he protested you going into the academy so strongly._

_But it was your mother who convinced him to give you the chance, not me. I wanted you as my heir Sakura, that is true. But I knew…I had wronged your father so badly in his youth. The least I could do was let you live by his dictations, not my own. I had your cousins who could take over, after all, even if they were not in the direct line._

_But your mother insisted. I remember her words distinctly. I think they shocked myself as much as they did him._

"_Children aren't coloring books. You don't get to fill them with your favorite colors."_

_You can't force anyone to be what you want them to be. It was so simplistic…but profound at the same time. But that was what your mother was like, isn't it? I'm glad you inherited her kindness Sakura, and not your father's pride. The Haruno pride is such a burden. You are just like your uncle. I know your father saw him in you._

_Gentle, kind, but still flawed around the edges. A little naïve at first, and a little outspoken. You both gave away your love so freely in youth, as if it were a tangible object to share._

_And the forehead my dear. You and your uncle both inherited that from me, I'm afraid._

_I think your father felt as if he'd been given a second chance when he had you. A chance to do things right. To protect you like he felt he should have protected his older brother. He always blamed himself for that. Always._

_He didn't want you to become a shinobi because he was so afraid of what could happen to you. But when you did…when you blossomed, my little kohana…I have never seen a man more proud of anything in his entire life. When you passed your Chuunin exams and became the Hokage's apprentice…when you became Jonin and then ANBU. He never stopped gloating about you._

_When you disappeared…when Uchiha Itachi and the Akatsuki took you away from us…you father felt as if he'd failed._

_He had once again let his precious person slip from his grasp._

_You were his _life_. And then to see you alive…alive and with the man who had taken you from him…that was too much. _

_Haruno pride is a dangerous thing, Sakura. _

_Your mother had just died when you returned. I don't think he could stand it. How could you still be alive? He came to me that night, the night after he'd disowned you. He told me that he hated you. But most of all he hated himself. It was his fault. He couldn't protect his brother and he couldn't protect his wife. And now his daughter…what could have happened to the precious daughter he'd bounced on his knees?_

_I saw that Haruno pride raise its ugly head…and I realized that I could not let your father do to you what I had done to him. You were not a failure. You were not weak, or useless, or insignificant in any way. I failed to show your father his worth…but I will not let him denounce yours!_

_You are still my heir, Sakura. He cannot disown you from the clan without my permission. Even at my death, your are still a Haruno. I will not let him take away the name that should be yours by right, even if, in public, you bear the name of the man that you have grown to love._

_After you returned with your daughter…I saw his eyes light up again, Sakura. I saw him look at her and see—see for the first time in so long—that you were still his little baby girl, no matter your mistakes. You loved you daughter. You didn't see anything wrong with her. You didn't see her as the 'daughter of a traitor' 'the child of an Uchiha'. She was just your little girl…_

_You're still his little girl, Sakura. He loves you so much…please never doubt that. Please…don't give up on him. Don't let his pride and your own ruin your chance at happiness! I failed with my son…but please, I beg of you…do not let him fail as his daughter._

_You can salvage this love, Sakura. I know you can. Because you have one thing that I most admired about your father, something I failed over and over to tell him. The most admirable trait a human being can possess._

_Determination._

_Sakura…I wrote this because I want you to understand him. And I want you to understand me. I want you to see my mistakes and learn from them._

_I want you to let your little girl choose her own colors. You can't color inside the lines forever. Sometimes it's best to let things run wild, eh? _

_And I want you to know…that even through it all…your father has never stopped being proud of you._

_Haruno Azami, loving mother and ever faithful grandmother…and hopeful great-grandmother to a girl that will one day do many great things._

Sakura stared down at the letter in her hands, ignoring the way the words blurred and the ink smeared as she sniffled, the paper crinkling in her hands. Her shoulders shook. She wanted to go and hug Mikomi, to tell her how much she loved her. But she couldn't…she knew that much.

Instead, she slowly rolled up the scroll. As she did so, a small white square slid out of the scroll's bindings and floated to the floor. Sakura blinked, before gingerly bending down and picking it up. She flipped it over and stared.

It was a photograph.

She didn't remember when it was taken—that was normal, of course, since it was a picture of the day she was born. In the center were her mother, father, grandmother, and grandfather. At the side was her two-year-old cousin—Dayu—tugging on his mother's kimono and pointing up at Sakura's swaddled form in her father's arms. He'd probably been asking a question about her.

But the part that made her burst into tears, sobbing frantically, was the look in her father's eyes as he looked down at her.

"…_otousan_…"

* * *

"Sakura?"

Sakura blinked, startled, as she hurriedly stood and walked to the front door where a soft knocking echoed. She slid it open, and gave a small smile at the person standing on the porch. "Sasuke." She nodded her head in greeting. "Karura and Mikomi are still sleeping, I decided that I should let them sleep in, since they were up so late last night. I was getting ready to make some tea. What is it?"

His eyes went to her face, and she unconsciously tugged a lock of her hair, trying to shield her eyes from view, eyes that she knew were still red and puffy from her tears.

He wisely said nothing, merely looked down at her attire—a simple yukata and slacks, and a white apron over it. "Naruto is holding a meeting with the Kazekage. He wants you there."

"Really?" Sakura murmured, momentarily shocked. "I see. Well, Kisame is still sleeping, but he should be up soon. Alright. Let me leave a note." She walked into the kitchen, Sasuke following her into the house and standing at the doorway.

He looked around as he heard Sakura rummaging through the kitchen for a pencil and paper. The hallway was brightly lit, and there was a fresh batch of sunflowers sitting in a water-filled vase on a small side-table, beneath a childish drawing done all in crayon.

He surveyed the picture with a small smile tugging at his lips. It was obvious that Mikomi had been the artist. A black crayon was used to draw a stick-figure that he guessed was Itachi. The fact that someone had drawn a stick-figure crayon sketch of his stoic older brother was enough to make him smirk. The second figure was done in pink—Sakura, obviously. And the third, standing between the two, connecting them all by holding their respective hands, was a little stick-figure done in red. Mikomi herself.

At the top, written in her childish handwriting (the picture seemed to be a little old, since it was torn at the edge and her handwriting was even more childlike than usual) were the words: Mom, Dad, and Miko-chan, best friends forever!

"She was only one when she drew it." The calm voice behind him startled him, and he turned to see Sakura leaning in the doorway from the kitchen, looking fondly at the picture. "That was when we realized she really was a prodigy. Able to draw like that and write at only one year…she's not very fond of the picture. She's embarrassed that I have it hanging up where everyone can see, but I'm too proud a mother to take it down." She was grinning now, and the pride in her voice at the mention of her daughter was evident. Her eyes were no longer red and puffy. He wondered if she'd used a medical jutsu to mask it, or a genjutsu…or if maybe the love and pride she had for her daughter erased the sadness from her eyes.

She was wearing a different outfit, and her hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she was minus one apron. The ever-present white bandage was situated comfortably on her forehead, and he once again resisted the urge to question it. He merely nodded at her. "Let's go then."

"Hai." She smiled. "Let's go."

* * *

"Sasuke-teme! Sakura-chan!"

The moment they entered the Hokage's office they were bombarded by their lively Hokage, who gripped Sasuke's shoulder in greeting and then proceeded to lift Sakura off the ground and twirl her around in a large bear hug.

He was grinning widely when he finally put her down, and she was laughing.

"It's good to see you too, _Hokage-sama_."

"When _you_ say it, it doesn't sound so important, Sakura-chan. Don't be so mean." Naruto fake-whined, before his gaze began to become serious again as he nodded at the other people in the room. Two Sand-nin guards leaned against the wall with a chair between them, and sitting down was the Kazekage himself, resplendent in his white and blue robes.

Now that Sakura thought about it…Naruto was wearing his own Hokage robes. She bit the inside of her cheek, sobering immediately. This meeting was serious, it seemed.

"Sit down." Naruto motioned to the two free chairs in front of his desk. Sakura and Sasuke merely shared a glance at one another and then walked over and stood on either side of Naruto, leaning against the wall.

The two bodyguards behind Gaara bristled slightly, nervous at the stares from two of the most infamous shinobi in the bingo books.

"I'm sorry that Kankuro could not be here. He's currently at the Police Station speaking with Akasuna no Sasori." Gaara explained calmly, but the bitter tone in his voice was evident. It was obvious that he still held a grudge against the Akatsuki member—which was completely understandable, since he'd helped rip the Shukaku out of Gaara and had almost killed Kankuro with his poisons.

"That's alright." Naruto nodded. "We're here to discuss the situation in Stone. Ever since the death of the Tsuchikage several years ago, their government has been unstable. There is no shinobi powerful enough or popular enough to take the mantle of Tsuchikage and lead the village."

Sakura suddenly noticed the dark bags beneath Naruto's eyes, and she frowned slightly. He was working himself too hard. While she had been settling down at the Uchiha compound he'd been through meeting after meeting, with ambassadors from other countries and council members. She wasn't used to such a serious side of her brash and exuberant friend. But, she realized, hardships and loss make everyone grow up quickly. Even Naruto's childish nature had been tainted and forced to fade.

"The daimyo in Stone wishes for military aid from Konoha and its allies." Naruto continued. "The shinobi hold no loyalty for him, and the man was apparently known as a tyrant, more so than the Tsuchikage himself."

"So he wants protection?" Gaara 'hmed' and leaned back in his chair. "I see. What is he offering in return?"

"They aren't disclosing all the major details yet. The ambassador is currently in another room waiting for my answer. But, I've been given a few of the terms. Until I give him an answer he likes, however, he isn't letting us see the actual document."

"That's not usually a good sign." Sakura mused aloud, gaze thoughtful.

"It usually means they either can't go through with the promises or it's merely a political trap." Sasuke nodded.

"Looking at Stone's economy, it's likely that they don't have enough resources to uphold the promises outlined in the agreement." Sakura continued, "Their major export is steel, but their manufacturing companies have been going under due to the economic depression and inflation."

"So their only valuable resource isn't quite so valuable." Naruto gave a sigh, before looking covertly at Sasuke and Sakura, who had moved from the wall and were leaning on either side of his desk, looking down at the file he held in front of him—a copy of the terms that Stone had let him see.

He couldn't help the small smile that tilted at the corners of his lips. This…this was how it was supposed to be. Sasuke at his right and Sakura at his left, helping him run Konoha, helping him protect the village they all loved.

He'd dreamed of this day since he was twelve.

"It would be unwise to accept the proposition. The time, money, and resources that would be put into maintaining the kind of order and protection that the Daimyo wishes for would far outweigh any of the agreements that Stone has come up with. Their economy is lacking, the entire country is turning anarchy, and the daimyo's political power is severely limited." Gaara broke Naruto from his reverie.

"Indeed, but at the same time, disregarding this agreement is suicide." Sasuke grunted.

"They've got us in a deadlock." Sakura agreed.

"Hm? Explain." Gaara murmured calmly.

"The people of Stone are prideful and a bit touchy. If we merely push this agreement aside, we will be slighting the daimyo and Stone itself. No doubt they would declare war." Naruto supplied.

"They would have no shinobi, however. It would make little difference." One of Gaara's bodyguards bit out.

"While the shinobi do not like the daimyo, their pride as people of Stone outweighs their disgust. They would all take it as a personal insult." Sasuke shrugged, unfazed by the shinobi's harsh glare.

"So, we'd be uniting the two opposing parties against a single enemy: Konoha and its allies." Gaara gave a soft sigh.

"Even if we went to war, their forces are weakened so greatly it wouldn't be difficult." The other sand-nin bodyguard mentioned aloud.

"You forget that Stone is far larger than the land of Fire. They are also have the largest force of shinobi in all the shinobi nations. Not only that, Konoha is still weakened from our last war with Stone." Naruto broached.

"But we have far more allies this time."

"But there is also the problem of the Akatsuki." Sakura cut in, and silence reigned at her admonishment.

"So we're damned if we do and damned if we don't. This is just great—" Naruto began, but was cut off as the door was pushed open and a cheerful Ino waltzed in.

"Good morning Hokage-sama!" She sang airily.

"Ino, this is a private meeting." Shikamaru groaned as he walked in behind her. "You can't just go barging in like this."

"He's right." Chouji commented as he walked in behind them. "It's rude." He and Shikamaru didn't seem to realize that they were interrupting as well. Well, maybe Chouji didn't realize. Shikamaru probably just didn't care.

"What is the meaning of this?" One of Gaara's bodyguards growled out angrily.

Naruto merely gave a small sigh and leaned forward. "I'm guessing you have the report, Ino?"

The platinum-blonde merely grinned cheekily, holding up a manila folder. "Oh I've got it alright. Mr. Stone Ambassador didn't even know it was coming."

"What?" The other Sand-nin guard sputtered. "Did you interrogate an ambassador? That's directly against the shinobi nation protocol!"

Ino sniffed, "Of course I didn't interrogate the man. He was too mesmorized by my chest to realize I was getting into his head at all."

"You mean…?" Sakura blinked, looking down at Ino's shirt. Yes, it was rather low cut today, and her skirt was much shorter than usual. She sighed, shaking her head. So, it seemed that Naruto had sent Ino into the ambassador's room to use her mind transfer jutsu on him.

"What if he had seen you make the hand-signs for your technique?" Gaara murmured. "You would have endangered all of us."

Ino merely placed her hands on her hips. "Don't worry about that, Kazekage-sama. We had everything completely under control. Shikamaru merely used his new shadow technique. The man _literally_ didn't see it coming."

"And Chouji held your body while you went into his." Sakura sighed exasperatedly, finally understanding everything.

Ino winked. "Yep."

"Good work." Naruto nodded. "Let's see the files." She placed them on his desk and he began flitting through them. Gaara stood and leaned over the other side of the table, and he, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke scoured the contents.

"Well, we'd better get going. Come on Shikamaru—" Ino began, but was cut off as the door to the office was thrown open.

The violent action caused everyone to grab for hidden weapons—weapons they weren't supposed to have in the Hoakge's office—and they all got into defensive stances, circling around the Kazekage and Hokage protectively, out of instinct.

"Hokage-sama!" Came the soft gasp of the first ANBU, landing on his knees in a bow. "We have an urgent message from one of our patrol groups!"

"What is it?" Naruto asked calmly as everyone visibly relaxed.

"Apparently the patrol had gotten a jumbled up radio message from the northern-most patrol in the area. They were almost out of range so the message was jarbled. They relayed all of it to us that they could."

"What is it?"

"…katsuki…idan…ka…u…zu…" The ANBU recited. "At first we didn't know what it meant, but the ANBU patrol apparently went to go find the border patrol group and they were all dead. They'd been slaughtered. They realized then that it was—"

"Akatsuki." Sasuke bit out.

"Hidan and Kakuzu." Sakura whispered with growing horror.

"As per orders, they didn't go off in pursuit of the two Akatsuki members. They came back as fast as they could to get in range of our radios to give us the message to relay to you, Hokage-sama."

Naruto nodded, standing. "Thank you. We'll send out ANBU as soon as possible."

"North…" Ino's brown furrowed. Then her eyes widened. "What area of the northern border was the message received from!?" Her frantic voice caused them all to blink in surprise.

"Around the Shinrin region."

"Shinrin?" Sakura mused, "But isn't that where—" And she paled. "Oh god…"

Shikamaru had already whirled around, pushing past the ANBU and racing out the door.

"Shikamaru!" Ino yelled after him, giving chase.

"Chouji!" Naruto barked out, turning to the Akimichi boy. "Go find Asuma. The two of you will head out after Ino and Shikamaru. A second ANBU patrol will be your reinforcements."

"Understood." And Chouji barreled out the door as well.

"What's going on?" Gaara asked icily.

"Temari…" Sakura whispered faintly. "That is where Temari took the academy children."

She'd never seen such a look of panic cross the stoic Kazekage's face before.

* * *

Temari let out a groan, fighting off a wave of light-headedness. She blinked wearily, and her vision began focusing. She was lying on her side on dust-covered, mossy planks. The smell of mold pervaded her senses, and made her want to puke.

That, and the feeling of blood leaking out of her body. The smell was overpowering. She gave another grunt of pain, and tried to sit up. She found that she couldn't, because her hands and ankles were both bound.

Her eyes widened in panic as she began to distinguish the soft whimpers that had edged her hearing earlier, and her vision cleared enough that she could see the small bundled shapes lying around the room in similar positions as her own.

The children.

And the small bundle tucked in the curve of her stomach…was Yashamaru. He cooed softly, playing with the edges of her obi.

Where were they? Why had the Akatsuki members brought them here? How long until reinforcements arrived? …what if reinforcements _didn't_ arrive? Temari swallowed to wet her throat, and that was when the door to the broken-down building was shoved open. It slammed back against the wall loudly, and several of the children screamed in fear.

All of them were crying.

"So you're finally awake, eh bitch?" Hidan crouched down in front of her, grinning manically.

"Go to hell." Temari spit, and her saliva splattered across his sandal.

"Bitch!" pain erupted in her arm as Hidan ground his sandal into the wound his scythe had made their earlier. He pressed down harder, and she let out a small cry as the bone snapped under the pressure.

He let out a low chuckle. "Not so high and mighty now, are we? You damn suna-ninja, you're always so fucking full of yourselves and shit. Just like Sasori. That damn mother-fucker was worse than you."

Temari gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the pain.

"Hidan, stop fucking around."

"Shut the fuck up!" Hidan roared back, turning to his partner, who stood in the doorway. "I was just explaining the situation to her."

"Hm." Kakuzu grunted, looking down at Temari and then looking around at the cowering children. "Hurry up. We don't know when the next patrol will be coming."

"Che. Whatever." Hidan grumbled, before looking back at Temari. "Well bitch…I guess I'll make this as simple as possible. We're going to kill all of you."

One of the girls screamed piteously.

"Just to let you know, I don't like this shit either, so I guess I feel sorry for you. I wanted to sacrifice you to Jashin. Now _there's_ a way to fucking go, no shit." And he grinned that sadistic grin again.

"Hidan!" Kakuzu snapped from somewhere outside. And that was when the smell of oil wafted into the room.

"But our Leader wants to make an example out of you. And when they find your bodies…" Hidan let out a high-pitched laugh. "That fucking Kazekage won't be happy when he finds out his older bitch sister died because some shit-shinobi from Konoha couldn't protect her, am I right?"

Temari's eyes widened. They were going to lay the blame on Konoha! They were going to make their deaths look like it was Konoha's fault. Temari paled. No…they were going to make Konoha blame Sakura and the other Akatsuki members in Konoha. They'll make this look like it's their fault.

_Oh god…_

"Get out here and help me." Kakuzu barked from outside, and the smell of oil was become unbearable. Several children were sobbing uncontrollably, calling for help, for their parents…

And Temari was helpless. She was tied so she couldn't get to them. She began rubbing viciously on the ropes, and she felt the skin on her wrists tear at the harsh treatment. Tears stung her eyes, but she ignored it.

Hidan had, by this time, walked casually to the door and stood there for a moment, before giving a grin and closing it behind him.

"You would have been one hell of a sacrifice, bitch." Was all he said, before the sound of a lock being turned echoed, louder than the combined screams of the children. A shadow fell across the one window, and Temari craned her neck to look fully.

The other Akatsuki member, Kakuzu…he was standing there, peering in at them, before he held up something that made Temari's heart stop in fear.

A lit match.

He merely gave a sneer from beneath his face-mask and dropped it.

"Stop this!" Temari yelled out hoarsely. "Take me! Take me and leave the children! Spare the children PLEASE!" But she could see that Hidan and Kakuzu had disappeared. Flames licked the windowpanes, and smoke billowed from beneath the door.

Children screamed, as realization of their situation dawned on them.

Little Yashamaru began wailing, frightened by the other children's screams and the smoke.

So Temari did the only thing she could do. It was inevitable that they were going to die. But the least she could do was comfort Yashamaru as much as possible. So she did what she always did when Yashamaru cried.

She sang.

"Hush, little baby, don't say a word," Temari began singing over the children's frightened cries and screams. "Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird."

The smoke filled her nostrils and she coughed. Little Yashamaru opened his mouth and began crying. It broke her heart, even as fear gripped her as she saw the flames licking the edges of the windows on the outside of the building.

"If that mockingbird don't sing, mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring."

"I want my mommy!" Someone cried and then broke down sobbing. The other children continued to scream.

"If that diamond ring turns to brass, mama's gonna buy you a looking glass." Temari continued to sing softly to Yashamaru and the other children, even as her voice caught in her throat and tears threatened to spill from her eyes. They stung as smoke billowed in through the door.

The little children continued to scream and all Temari could do was watch as the door was eaten through by the flames and it raced across the wall, consuming it as well. The heat was scorching.

"If that looking g-glass gets broke, mama's gonna buy you a billy-goat." Temari closed her eyes, letting a sob break through as her shoulders shook.

_I love you Shikamaru. Oh god…I love you _so much_. You and Karura are my life. Please…please protect her…_

_Gaara…Kankuro…_

"If that billy-goat won't pull, m-mama's gonna b-buy you a cart and bull." The heat was blistering, and the children continued to scream. That was the sound that hurt her the most. Little Yashamaru had gone quiet as he looked up at her, eyes glossed over.

"If that cart and bull turns over, mama's gonna buy you a d-d-dog named R-rover."

_I love you, I love you, I love you…please…oh god it hurts!_

She tried not to cry, she tried not to, even as the children screamed and the heat became unbearable.

"I-If that dog named Rov-v-er won't b-bark, mama's gonna b-buy you a h-horse and cart."

The entire room was filled with black smoke. She could hardly see anything in front of her. Yashamaru was still, and she knew that he had died of asphyxiation before the flames could touch him. He was smiling peacefully, looking like he was merely asleep. She half expected him to wake up and begin crying for some milk.

"…if th-that horse and cart falls down, you'll still be the sweetest little baby in town."

_At least…at least Yashamaru died without pain._

The children were screaming as the flames touched them, as Temari finally let go and sobbed, pressing her face into the earthen floor and breathing it in as the flames began licking her legs.

* * *

**(A\N: I'm sorry this took so long…and equally sorry that the entire chapter was depressing. But this is meant to show the realities and harshness of war and life so…that's what I'm depicting. More angst in the next chapter, and we'll have some Akatsuki scenes, since I've been neglecting them. :)**

**I hope you all enjoyed it.**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	17. Chapter 16: si c'était ça la vie

**(A\N: I'm sorry this chapter took so long but...enjoy reading!)**

* * *

_She tried not to cry, she tried not to, even as the children screamed and the heat became unbearable._

_"I-If that dog named Rov-v-er won't b-bark, mama's gonna b-buy you a h-horse and cart."_

_The entire room was filled with black smoke. She could hardly see anything in front of her. Yashamaru was still, and she knew that he had died of asphyxiation before the flames could touch him. He was smiling peacefully, looking like he was merely asleep. She half expected him to wake up and begin crying for some milk._

_"…if th-that horse and cart falls down, you'll still be the sweetest little baby in town."_

At least…at least Yashamaru died without pain.

_The children were screaming as the flames touched them, as Temari finally let go and sobbed, pressing her face into the earthen floor and breathing it in as the flames began licking her legs._

* * *

**Chapter 16**

**si c'était ça la vie**

* * *

_Temari…_Shikamaru raced through the trees in a panic. The wind whipped through his hair, a few locks coming out of its usual neat ponytail and blowing into his face. He didn't bother to push them aside as he went.

Temari had taken the children with her to the Shinrin area. The Akatsuki had attacked the Shinrin area. Akatsuki…Temari…

He gritted his teeth. Not this time…he wouldn't let Akatsuki take his wife away from him again.

"SHIKAMARU!"

Ino's voice was shrill with panic, but he didn't slow down to wait for her. He continued onward, his legs aching, his lungs on fire. How long had he been running? He didn't remember…he'd passed through the gates of Konoha hours ago. He hadn't paid attention to the ANBU squads he'd encountered, even when they tried to stop him.

Ino's chakra signature fluctuated on his right, and out of the corner of his eye he saw her land on the branch a few feet behind him, pushing off of it a second later to keep up with his desperate pace.

"Shikamaru, dammit!" Ino cursed. "We have to wait for backup!"

"I have to find Temari!" Shikamaru yelled back, and that was all he said as he launched himself further away from her.

Ino ground her teeth in anger and helplessness. For a moment she thought of using her mind transfer jutsu on him to get him to stop. But he would sense it and dodge if she did that. Besides, there was no one to catch her body, which meant if she managed to take over Shikamaru her own body would plummet to the ground far beneath them.

Also…she didn't really want to stop Shikamaru at all. Panic filled her at the thought of Temari in danger. The two were close, unbearably close. If Temari was hurt…Ino swallowed, because her throat was dry and an ache filled her chest, a gnawing pain that wouldn't leave.

_All those children…Temari…Yashamaru…_Tears filled her eyes and she wiped them away furiously. _This is all my fault! Why did I volunteer Temari to take over for the day? Why did the academy teacher get sick on _this_ day!?_

She knew it was cruel and selfish to wish that it was the other Konoha shinobi who had taken the children and would be put in this precarious situation rather than Temari but…she couldn't help it.

_All my fault…oh god, please be ok Tema-chan!_ Ino let the tears flow down her cheeks unhampered, merely forced chakra into the soles of her feet and tried to keep up with Shikamaru, who was quickly forcing himself far ahead of her.

She let out a small sob and opened her mouth to tell Shikamaru to wait for her—they would do this together in case an enemy was nearby—when a despair filled yell filled the air.

Her eyes widened in shock.

_Shikamaru!_

_

* * *

_

The smell of burnt flesh and wood was heavy, and Shikamaru let out a small choked grunt as he landed in the clearing. There was a moment of silence as he simply stared…stared at the charred ruins of the building.

He stared because there was nothing else he _could_ do. The sense of reality of the situation was gone. It was like…a dream. He could only blink and stare at the spot where the building was supposed to be standing.

Where Temari was supposed to be standing.

And then he did the only thing he could do, as his legs gave out on him and he landed in the still warm ashes.

He screamed.

Ino was beside him an instant, but he didn't hear anything she said. She was crying and sobbing and she landed on the ground next to him. He briefly realized she was frantically digging through the charred wood and ashes, screaming, calling out names.

That's right…she was an academy teacher. Did she know the children who had been there?

_Temari…_

…_Yashamaru…_

…_Karura…_

His eyes filled with tears and they slid down his cheeks. Gone…his whole family…Temari had taken Yashamaru with him, and when he'd returned earlier that day to his home Karura had been absent as well. Temari must have taken them both.

In only a few hours he had lost his entire reason for living.

"Nooooooo!" Ino moaned, a low, keening sound as she continued digging through the ashes. Her clothes were stained gray and black and the air around them was thick and smothering. She felt the disgusting powder catch beneath her fingernails. It got in her eyes and her nose and her mouth as she called out hoarsely.

She had taught these children once, a brief lesson in kunoichi skills the year before. She remembered their smiling faces and laughter. Her tears made clear tracks down her ash-covered cheeks.

And then her fingers struck something besides ash and wood and what she knew were fragments of bone. Her fingernail split and the pain was welcomed, before she pushed the gray mass aside and stared down at the hunk of twisted metal in front of her.

The blood from her split fingernail mixed with the ash, turning it a sickening reddish-black but she ignored it as she continued to sob, staring down at the charred, distorted steel. She reached out her hand and tentatively picked it up.

She breathed in deeply, then exhaled shakily, the sound coming out as a hiss between clenched teeth.

"Sh-Shika…" She didn't finish, merely held it out to him.

At the sound of his name, Shikamaru turned wearily. When the sun glinted off of the object in her hands, his eyes widened in shock, before tears filled them with renewed vigor. He took the object from her with fingers that shook, and looked down at the metal cupped gently in his palm.

It was almost undistinguishable. The heat had twisted and blackened the metal into a mutated lump. But through the grime he could make out an initial T. It had, at one point, spelled out her name. It was a bracelet he'd given to her on their honeymoon.

It was a confirmation of his worst fears. Temari would never take off the bracelet. She kept it with her at all times. That meant…

He didn't cry or scream, because shock gripped him and he just _couldn't_. He merely let out a shaky breath.

There was no Sakura here to save Temari this time. She was gone for good.

Sakura…

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed in anger. She was the reason for this. The Akatsuki were after Sakura's child and the defectors of the Akatsuki. They'd taken their revenge and his family had been caught in the crossfire.

"Sakura…damn you…" He hissed out.

"Shikamaru?" Ino asked numbly, confused at the venom lacing his words. He merely stood abruptly, still clutching Temari's bracelet.

"Shikamaru!" Chouji and Asuma landed in the clearing at that moment, an ANBU squad behind them.

"Oh my god…" One of the ANBU members whispered as they looked over the scene.

"Shikamaru." Asuma murmured, walking up to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. Shikamaru shrugged it off roughly. "Don't touch me!" And then he launched himself into the trees.

"Shikamaru!" Ino and Chouji both yelled out, going after him. Asuma swallowed, looking at the grim scene. "I'll leave the cleanup to you." He nodded at the ANBU before he followed behind his former students.

_Shikamaru…don't do something you will regret._

_

* * *

_

The room was deathly silent. Sakura wished someone would yell. The silence was too thick, too filled with anger and worry and barely veiled hope that this was all a sick joke and everyone would be fine.

Only moments before the room had been a whirlwind of activity. People running in and out, Naruto ordering ANBU to take turns patrolling Konoha and upping the security in case more Akatsuki members were near.

She remembered merely sitting down—hard—and looking at Gaara. His face was blank, carefully blank…but it was not the calm he usually exuded, the confident calm of a man who chose to reign in his emotion rather than show it openly. It was…a blank face that meant he was screaming inside.

Temari was his only sister…the only other person in his family besides his brother to truly accept and understand him.

"Gaara I…" Naruto began in a broken whisper, cutting through the tense silence.

Gaara's pale jade eyes flickered to him briefly, before they returned to the carpeted floor at his feet.

Sakura finally stood from her chair. "I…I should go and get Karura." She closed her eyes briefly, trying to draw courage to herself. "I'll bring her back here she'll…she'll want to see her uncles. If anything should happen," _If Temari's dead oh please oh please don't be dead!_ "then it would be best if the two of you—"

"Yeah." Kankuro whispered, his knuckles white as they gripped the back of Gaara's chair tightly. Sakura realized that it was the only thing holding him up. His eyes were wide, pupils dilated in shock, even as his face remained blank. "Yeah that…that would be…but we don't even know, she could be fine and we're all just worrying and…" He stopped, because the cracked smile that had begun to appear on his face disappeared.

They all knew that hope was such a tentative thing in their world. It could not be relied on…not in a world full of death and betrayal and hatred. Not in a world of shinobi.

"Sakura, I'll come—"

"No." Sakura stopped Sasuke with a harsh shake of her head. "No you…you stay with Naruto ok? I'll go alone." She headed to the door mechanically, trying to keep her face from showing the inner turmoil inside of her. But she wasn't like Gaara or Sasuke. She couldn't keep the tears from filling her eyes or the way her brow furrowed as she tried _so hard_ not to cry.

She ignored the looks of the Chuunin and ANBU she passed in the hallways as she made her way out of Hokage's tower. She didn't have time to pay attention to—are care about—the distrust and hate-filled glares sent her way.

Akatsuki…Pein…Madara…this was her fault.

_No! Akatsuki would have attacked Konoha even if you had sided with them! Death such as this…this is inevitable._

_No…Pein promised…I would have been given Konoha…I could have protected everyone inside of it…_

_And lived with their hatred and resentment? No that…never that. You would never be able to survive that._

_My fault…this is all my fault…_

She dragged a hand through her hair, letting out a frustrated growl. She wanted to cry, but she didn't. There was no time for tears. She had to reign in her own pain and meet Karura and Mikomi with a smiling face. She had to pretend that there was nothing wrong—because Temari could be perfectly FINE and there was no point in scaring Karura and—"YOU!"

Sakura blinked, before somethinf slammed into her cheek and she was sent sprawling across the dirt road. She let out a chocked grunt of surprise as she landed, biting the side of her cheek. She winced as the taste of copper filled her mouth.

She wasn't given a chance of reprieve, because her attacker grabbed the front of her yukata and hauled her upwards, onto her feet. She steadied herself, senses on alert, eyes snapping open—and staring into the contorted visage of Nara Shikamaru.

His face told her everything, and her heart sank as pain bloomed in her chest.

"Shikamaru—"

"This is all your fault!" He yelled out, almost incoherently. This time he let go of her and aimed for her chest. She felt the blow, but she was still in too much shock to dodge. It glanced off of her shoulder—Shikamaru was too distraught to aim properly through his tears—but the pain echoed throughout her body.

_Dead. Temari's dead. Yashamaru. Are they all…are they all dead?_

Of course they were. Akatsuki left no survivors.

"I HATE YOU!" Shikamaru yelled, his fist slamming into her shoulder. She barely moved. "IF YOU HADN'T COME BACK THIS NEVER WOULD HAVE HAPPENED! I _HATE_ YOU!"

Another hit to the chest, a punch that she felt but didn't stop. The crowd that had formed around them were silent. A chakra signature—several familiar ones—flared to life. They neared the area and Sakura briefly wondered if they would get there before Shikamaru actually tried to kill her.

"IHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOU…"

Sakura did nothing, because she had screamed at Sasori the same way after Deidara's death. Only…Itachi had held her back from hitting him.

No one held Shikamaru back. She was just an Akatsuki member. A traitor. None of Konoha's citizens or shinobi would interfere. And Sakura didn't want them to. Each blow hurt, but it was a welcome pain because she knew how badly it must feel. Temari and Yashamaru were gone…and it was because of her and the other rebel Akatsuki members.

"I _HATE_ YOU!"

And Shikamaru curled his hand into a fist, bringing his arm back before launching forward towards her face. She didn't move, only braced herself for the pain.

The blow never came.

A rope of sand held Shikamaru's arm away from her.

"That's enough Shikamaru…"

Everyone slowly turned to look at the Kazekage. He was standing in his formal robes, looking strangely weak and tired. So unlike the regal, powerful man they knew. Beside him was Kankuro. His purple face paint was smeared, and his eyes were red, but his face was calm.

Sakura met their eyes and knew…knew that they had realized the truth as well. Temari was dead. Sakura finally let the tears fall down her face, but didn't make a sound.

"Gaara, I…" Shikamaru began, but the sand merely tugged on his arm again, forcing him backwards. He stumbled, falling to his knees with a small sob. Sakura knelt to help him up but he shrank away from her and she stopped. She stood, feeling helpless and realizing that everyone's eyes were on her.

She felt as if she were being put on trial.

"I…" She began, but stopped as several figures burst from the crowd.

"Shikamaru!" Ino landed beside him, pulling him into her arms as he began to cry in earnest. The pathetic, ragged wheezes that filled the silence made Sakura wince.

"Dead…they're all dead Ino…I…" Shikamaru couldn't continue, merely clutched at her as if she were his lifeline. She was crying too, trying to whisper soothing words in his ears and failing because her own sobs overrode them.

Sakura felt so out of place. She took one step backwards, then two. She needed to leave…she had to get out of this place. The crowd seemed to trap her in, forcing her to face the sight of what her decisions had created…to see the death and destruction and despair that _she_ had inadvertently caused.

"Dad?" It was a soft whisper, and Shikamaru stiffened at the sound, before looking up from Ino's shoulder and scanning the crowd in disbelief. His eyes were red and puffy.

Standing in the center of the crowd was Karura, looking at him with a worried expression. She seemed confused—of course she was, she didn't know what was going on at all—and she took a step towards him. Standing behind her was Itachi, his gaze emotionless, his eyes going only to Sakura. Behind them stood Naruto and Sasuke, who had come with Gaara and Kankuro. Mikomi was nowhere in sight, and Sakura suspected that he had left her at home with Kisame on purpose. Maybe…he'd already guessed what would happen.

"You're…you didn't…" Shikamaru croaked out, looking at her in disbelief. "You didn't go…go with them?"

Karura's brow furrowed in confusion. "Go with who? I was at Mikomi's house."

At this Shikamaru's eyes flickered to Sakura—the hatred was still there, strong and unrelenting—before he looked back at Karura. "Karura…"

"What is it, daddy?" Her voice began to hold an edge of panic. "Daddy where—where's mom?"

Silence.

Shikamaru seemed to be trying to find the right words to say, but he should have realized what that silence meant to Karura. She was a genius—the daughter of two tactician experts. She could interpret these kinds of things easily, even at this young of an age. She knew what death was…and she knew…knew that something was horribly wrong.

She knew that her mother wasn't coming back.

And as her face scrunched up and tears filled her eyes, Sakura's heart shattered.

She would never forgive herself.

* * *

Itachi practically dragged her home. The scene had been too much for her, as well as the hatred—he'd sensed the condemning stares that followed Sakura and himself through the entire thing—he'd done the only sensible thing to do. Get her away from a threat.

His hand on her arm was strong and firm, something stable when everything else was falling down around her. She walked beside him as if she were in a trance. She stumbled a few times, and each time he caught her, pushing her forward.

She moved without thinking.

Home…she wanted to get home so that she wouldn't have to look at any of them anymore. She wondered how Itachi could stand those looks. She wondered how he survived knowing that so many people wanted him dead. Before, when she'd returned to Konoha, the looks had been angry and distrustful but this…she'd never felt anyone's intent to kill aimed at her like that.

The Uchiha compound was in sight before Itachi stopped walking, causing her to look back at him uncertainly. He merely reached out and ran a thumb along her lip. She blinked in surprise, feeling a small twinge of pain and seeing blood covering his fingers as he drew away. That's right, Shikamaru had punched her in the face…

"Don't let Mikomi see you like this."

She felt a little life return to her at the sound of her daughter's name. That's right…Miko-chan needed her. She needed her to smile and be cheerful and strong. Sakura took strength from Itachi's unrelentling solidness. She held onto him for a moment—a desperate cling that he usually wouldn't allow—as she reached up and brushed chakra laced fingers over her jaw. The bruise disappeared and her split lip healed quickly.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again.

Itachi was relieved to see the strength in them, the resolve to remain strong. It was something he had always admired about her, her will to never show her weakness to others. She always tried to remain as strong as possible for those she loved, so that they wouldn't worry about her.

"Alright." She breathed out in a soft whisper. "Let's go."

He nodded, and the continued down the road. For a few moments, Itachi thought that perhaps Sakura would be fine now. Konoha would take care of its own troubles and she would be able to deal with the pain and loss and would be back to the Sakura that he had always known.

It was a wishful thought, one he wouldn't usually make.

And it was short-lived as well, as they walked through the compound and found themselves standing in front of their home. Mikomi was sitting on the porch, her legs dangling over the side as she swung them back and forth. She was tense, looking uncertainly at the man sitting on the steps beside her—Kisame was standing a few feet away, gaze never leaving their guest.

Sakura's weary emerald eyes took in the person sitting on her porch.

Dayu.

His eyes were slightly red, his face carefully neutral.

Their gazes locked, and the importance of his presence hit her, knocking the breath out of her as she let out a small gasp.

"_**Please…tell me…when it happens."**_

"_**I will have a messenger come to the Uchiha compound."**_

"Please no…" She sobbed. "No more please…" And then she crumbled, falling to her knees. Not this…she couldn't handle this…she closed her eyes as her head began to spin. Itachi was beside her, his hand on her shoulder. Was he kneeling or still standing? She couldn't tell. She couldn't see anything as she scrunched her eyes shut and placed her hands over her ears.

"Sakura." Itachi's voice, calm and sure and…worried? No she was imagining that…

She shook her head furiously. She couldn't take it. She wanted to scream so badly. Why now? Why was this happening to her? Why couldn't she do anything?

Pain exploded in her head, as she continued to cry, trying to remind herself that she couldn't do this in front of Mikomi. She was probably worrying her badly right now…she had to get up and stop crying…she had to smile…

She merely felt her body go lax as she pitched forward into unconsciousness.

* * *

Shikamaru didn't remember walking home that night. Actually, everything after Karura's appearance became a blur. He remembered holding her to him and not letting go. He remembered frantic voices and orders and someone trying to get him to stand but that…that was it.

And now he sat in a dark room, staring down at a shogi table.

It was his favorite room in the house, one that he and Temari frequented often. Temari loved shogi herself, and it wasn't unusual for the couple to play in the evenings before bed. He sat in the dark, cold room, and he stared into the nothingness around him.

He heard the clock ticking in the background, but he paid it little attention. He didn't care what time it was. He just…didn't care anymore.

The shogi board lay in front of him, the pieces set up in their perfect little rows. They shouldn't look so peaceful, so perfect. It was wrong, terribly wrong. Why did everything else have to continue on like normal when the world as he knew it had just ended?

He lifted up a hand and swept them off angrily. The tiles scattered across the room, the sound of them hitting the floor echoing. He let out a harsh, ragged breath.

The door slid open.

He didn't look up, but he heard someone walking around the room softly…heard them picking up the tiles. He supposed it was Ino, and was waiting for her to begin scolding him for being so messy. That was always her way of coping with grief, and her way of trying to pull people out of their own: scolding and incessant teasing. He couldn't deal with that right now. So, as the person neared, he opened his mouth to snap at her, to tell her to leave him the hell alone. Instead, the person sat on the other side of the shogi table. His head was still bowed, so he couldn't see them.

A tile was held out in his line of vision and Shikamaru blinked. The hand was small, too small to be Ino's hand. He slowly looked up—and saw that it was Karura sitting across the small table from him, holding out the piece expectantly.

He took it silently, and noticed that she had already set up all the other pieces. She reached out a hand, fingers shaking as she did so—her entire body was shaking with suppressed tears—and moved one of her tiles.

Shikamaru stared down at the board.

"It's your move." Karura's voice was soft, and it sounded like she was speaking through tears.

His move was a mechanical one, with no thought behind it. He didn't bother trying to think up a strategy.

Click. Karura had moved another tile.

He slid another of his own to its place a space away. The sound was the only thing he could hear, besides the incessant ticking of the clock in the hallway.

A tear dropped onto the board as Karura leaned over to pick up another tile and capture one of his own.

He blinked. Karura…was crying. What should he do? He'd never seen her cry before. The only time she had ever cried, Temari had always been there to comfort her, to sing to her softly until she fell asleep in her arms.

What could he do…to take away the pain?

How could he tell her everything was going to be alright when he didn't believe it himself?

He merely leaned over and brushed another tear from her cheek.

"It's your move." She bit out again, more tears falling.

He looked down at the board, and gave a curt nod.

"Yeah…it is…"

* * *

When Sakura awoke, Mikomi was already in bed and Kisame had left the house, leaving Sakura and Itachi alone. She was lying in their bed, Itachi beside her, absently reading a book.

She scrunched her eyes shut in shame and anger. "Is Mikomi ok?"

"She didn't say."

"No…I don't suppose she would have." Sakura murmured back, opening her eyes and looking over at him. She let out a shaky sigh before sitting up. Her body ached from the blows that Shikamaru had dealt her, but she didn't try and heal them. She just didn't feel like doing something like that at the moment. It seemed too mundane a task.

She heard the soft chirping of crickets outside their window and saw that it was pitch black outside, and that the moon was hidden behind clouds.

The silence was sad, but bearable.

"I feel helpless…" Sakura whispered softly. "But more than that I feel…guilty. This is all my fault. We couldn't save any of them."

"Mikomi is safe." Itachi's voice was emotionless, but she knew the intent behind his statement.

"It doesn't make me feel any less guilty. What if _they had gone with her?_ What if Mikomi had said yes? She and Karura would have—they—" Sakura stopped herself by biting her lip, letting tears fill her eyes but not fall. She would be strong. She couldn't cry anymore. She had already worried and hurt Mikomi so much…

A hand on her shoulder—she wasn't used to Itachi giving her these small gestures of kindness—and she relaxed instantly, even if it was only slight. She knew that Itachi had always been afraid before, afraid to show that he wasn't heartless, and it made her love for him more…real and concrete. He trusted her to tell her the truth. She would never break that trust.

She finally gave a soft sigh. "Lay down please."

Itachi merely raised an eyebrow in question.

"I want to give you a massage."

"Isn't the one who needs comforting the one who is given the massage?" Itachi asked offhandedly in his usual monotone, and if it were anyone else she would think he was teasing her. But it was Itachi, so she knew it was merely a statement.

Sakura merely gave a crooked smile. "I want to get my mind off of it, this has always helped me concentrate in this past. And I…I just want to touch you." A small blush rose to her cheeks at the admission, and Itachi merely nodded.

"Very well."

The lights were off, and Sakura didn't seem to want them back on. He heard a match struck, and then a soft glow filled the room, as well as the smell of ylang ylang and sandalwood candles.

Itachi had already slipped off his shirt and contented himself with lying on the bed, propping himself up on his elbows as he watched her move around the room. She untied her yukata and let it drop, falling to a pile at her feet along with the obi Ino had got for her. She wore nothing but her slacks and a mesh shirt over her chest now, and the slacks quickly met the floor as well. The movements were slow and smooth in the smoky, half-lit room. Itachi contented himself with merely watching her move, the way the candlelight splayed across her skin and taught muscles. He saw the bruises forming on her skin but didn't comment on them. They were Sakura's burden, and he knew she would not appreciate him reminding her of them.

She needed this moment, and he would give it to her.

She remained in her mesh top and underwear, walking towards the bed with something in hand. "Lay on your stomach. I'll start with your back." She whispered, and gave him a tentative smile—the first real smile she'd shown since they'd gotten the news of Temari's death.

Itachi was not submissive by nature. His instincts told him to deny her this, because Uchiha Itachi wasn't ordered around by _anyone, _and he _never_ turned his back on anyone because that would leave him vulnerable and exposed. But this was Sakura, and so he slowly moved, making himself comfortable, eyes and senses open to any threat that should try and come upon him and his family while he was in such a vulnerable, relaxed state.

A soft pressure on his hips: Sakura was straddling his lower legs. He heard the sound of her hands rubbing together as she placed a bit of oil in her palms. Then the strange feeling of a small bit of oil dribbled onto his skin. It collected at the base of his spine, in the dip at the small of his back. The soft feeling of Sakura's fingers was next, a welcome pressure.

She was gentle—it was her nature as a healer not to harm but heal—but she was also firm. Her movements were fluid and precise. She placed both hands at the base of his lower back and pressed, and began to stroke upwards. The pressure was immense, and he welcomed it as her hands traveled up to his neck, the tense muscles in his back relaxing beneath her touch. Softer then, as she began a lulling circular motion as she went back down to the point where she had started.

The air in the room had been cool, but the sensual smell of the candles and the lovely friction of Sakura's calloused hands on his scar-riddled back made the air around him heat deliciously. With ever forceful push that Sakura made, up and down and back again, he felt her hips moving against his legs. It was not meant to be sensual, but he felt heat pool in his stomach.

Sakura knew that even as Itachi relaxed even more beneath her, he was not unaware of his surroundings. No matter how comfortable Itachi felt around her, he would always be wary of his surroundings, ready for any possible attack. But that was alright with her, because it allowed her to not think at all, to simply move her hands up and down, beginning the process of 'stripping' his back, where she ran her thumbs on either side of his spine with a hard pressure that became gentler the closer to his neck she came. When she met any kinks or knots she rubbed them dutifully, and the feeling of his warm skin beneath her fingertips was amazing.

She allowed herself to get lost in the sight before her. The light from the candle made his oil-covered back glisten. His muscles rippled beneath her touch, and she counted the scars on his back as she went. She had once thought he was flawless, that no one could touch him. But she realized he too had been young once, and that even an amazing shinobi ran into trouble. Some of the scars had stories—well, they all had stories, but she'd only ever gotten a few out of him—and she cherished them. Itachi was human after all it seemed.

But at the same time…it frightened her. She had thought Itachi was infallible. Nothing could harm him—or her and Mikomi if he was with them.

Itachi felt something warm drop onto his skin that was not oil. It was followed quickly by another droplet, and he felt Sakura's fingers trembling against his skin as she continued.

She was crying.

One of her hands left his skin and he knew she was rubbing the tears away furiously. She cursed softly under her breath, a shaky sob, "Dammit…"

"Why are you so angry?"

"I'm not angry!" She snapped out.

"Yes you are." He craned his neck a bit, turning to look at her.

"No I'm not! I'm—" But she was, and they both knew it.

"Why are you angry?"

For a moment there was no answer, and he wondered if he had pushed her too far. Perhaps this was too much for her at one time, too much loss to deal with to come face to face with her emotions outright at this time.

The Haruno man that had come had told him that Sakura's grandmother was dead. The funeral would be in a week. He decided not to tell Sakura that yet.

He was surprised when she finally answered, because her voice was so full of anguish that it surprised him. "I'm angry because I'm _useless_! I can't save anyone and that's my JOB. not My mother…not my grandmother…not Temari or those children or _Deidara_—or ANYONE! I'm a medic and it's my job to save lives and I'm USELESS."

"You're not Konoha's savior." He defended.

"NEITHER ARE YOU!"

Shocked silence filled the room as he slowly turned, flipping himself onto his back. Sakura remained above him, straddling his hips, staring down in anger as tears drifted down her cheeks. "You're not Konoha's savior either so you…you should stop lying to them all." She bit back, and Itachi sensed the change of subject easily.

He knew that the topic of his choice on telling Konoha the truth or not would always be a tense subject with the two of them, one that would come up often. But he also knew…that Sakura was using it as an excuse right now to hide her own feelings. She was trying to get into a fight with him over his decision because it would give her something to be mad at other than the real reason she was crying.

"That isn't what this is about."

"Yes it is!" She defended hotly.

"Sakura—"

"Don't you get it? I always felt so guilty…guilty because you saved Konoha and never expected any praise and that's all I want…from the beginning all I wanted was to be needed, to have people see my value." Sakura whispered fervently, and Itachi suddenly realized that maybe Sakura's emotions on the subject were more than just loss at the death of her friend. Perhaps this…ran deeper than he had expected.

"I wanted to be valued because I was never _ever _good enough when I was younger. I was the weakest member of the Konoha Twelve. I didn't have any powers and my only skill was a knack for genjutsu and perfect chakra control and I didn't know how to APPLY that. I was weak and defenseless and no one needed me. All I did was get in the way. Is that what you wanted to hear!?" She yelled out angrily.

"Sakura…"

"I want to be needed so badly…that was why I became a medic! In the beginning it wasn't about saving lives. It was about proving my worth, about showing that I was useful too, even if I wasn't the best fighter or knew the most justu. It would be pitiful of me to say that I did it because I loved healing and making people better. I did it because…because I wanted to be a hero. I wanted someone to see me as that. It was stupid and selfish and I hate that part of me. As I continued I began to love healing for its own purposes, not just because I was useful. But it's always been there…always…that need to be needed. It will never leave. That kind of insecurity…I hate it because it means I'm still weak." And she looked down at him with a tear filled smile full of pain and self resentment. "How can I ever live with myself knowing that no matter how hard I try, I'll never be good enough?"

Itachi was silent for a long moment, not sure what to say to broach the subject again. Sakura's weight atop him was pleasant, but it was also painful. Not because she was sitting atop him, but because she was there and that meant he had to deal with this now. He wasn't used to this kind of thing. He wasn't used to tears and pain and trying to _make others feel better_.

He wondered what he should do…and realized that letting Sakura get it all out was best. She needed to scream and rant because…she was a passionate person who tried to keep their emotions inside and that wasn't healthy at all. He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't realize Sakura had begun speaking again.

"…Naruto…he's my hero. Naruto believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. He never gave up on me and I love him for it. When everyone else…when even Kakashi-sensei tried to pretend that it was ok that I was weak and that I would always need to be protected…Naruto told me…he always told me I would be strong one day. I would be the best! He pushed me and inspired me because everyone hated him _so much _when he was younger and look at him now! He never gave up and now he's the HOKAGE. Everyone _loves_ him!"

"So that's the problem, isn't it?"

"What?" Her brow furrowed in confusion, the tears still leaking from her eyes.

"You want the village to love you."

"I don't see what—"

"The recognition you seek…you gave that up and you hate yourself for it."

There was a long moment of silence as Sakura's stared down at him in shock. Her tear-filled emerald eyes were wide, but for the moment, no more tears formed. Instead, a look of acceptance and realization filled her gaze. It was…the truth. More than her anger at herself for not being able to save Temari and the others…was her anger over the fact that now, more than ever, Konoha would hate her.

"Yes…yes I do." Because the hatred, she realized, ran deeper than she'd thought, "Because no matter what…I'm still useless…no one needs me."

"Many people need you." Itachi stated tonelessly, even as he began to sit up and Sakura slid off of him to her place at his side. She shook her head sadly, brushing the last few tears from her eyes. Her doubt in his words was obvious.

"Your friends need you. Your idiotic father still needs you. Mikomi needs you." Itachi answered back in his monotone, reaching out a hand and capturing a few locks of rosette hair between his fingers. He tugged a bit, reveling in the feel of it.

"…and what about you Itachi? What do you need?" Her voice was soft and hopefull, wondering what he would say.

_I need you too. _That was what she wanted to hear.

In a way, Itachi wished he could say it too, but the words wouldn't leave his lips and he didn't try too hard to force them out. It was not his way, and he would not change.

"I need you to stop crying." He said bluntly.

And Sakura did the only thing she could do at such a statement.

She laughed.

And it was a glorious sound.

* * *

**(A\N: Well…there you have it…you have no idea how long this chapter took to write. I hope you all enjoyed it. I know I promised some Pein and Konan in this chapter but…we'll get them in the next one. This chapter focused mainly on Konoha because that was more important at the moment. We'll get more about Naruto and the others and their feelings as well, since this one just centered around Sakura and Shikamaru. Sakura's thoughts in the end to Itachi…that's really how I think Sakura thinks. She's needed that kind of justification in the manga as well, that need to be needed. I know some people think that in the manga she's shallow for the fact that she says she began healing because she wanted to feel needed rather than because she wanted to help people like Hinata but…I think that the fact that Sakura is so honest about it makes her even more human and loveable in my opinion. She doesn't lie about wanting to heal because **_**it's the right thing to do**_** she does it because her entire life she's felt useless. –sighs- that's what I love about Sakura's character…**

**Anyway, the title for this chapter is the title of a song by Emmanuel Moire…his music is amazing, go listen to it…it's all in French though, just so you know. :D**

**Well…I'm off to try and salvage my Naruto muse and maybe update another story. **

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	18. Chapter 17: The White Butterfly

**(A\N: I am sorry for how late this is. School again. :) Also, the last few Naruto manga chapters have done NOTHING for my muse--except kill it. I don't really like Nagato's appearance...mainly because...how can Konan have hot, mad sex with him if he's constantly attatched to wires and tubes? T_T lol, anyway...I hope you enjoy the chapter!)**

* * *

"…_and what about you Itachi? What do you need?" Her voice was soft and hopefully, wondering what he would say._

I need you too._ That was what she wanted to hear._

_In a way, Itachi wished he could say it too, but the words wouldn't leave his lips and he didn't try too hard to force them out. It was not his way, and he would not change._

_  
"I need you to stop crying." He said bluntly._

_And Sakura did the only thing she could do at such a statement._

_She laughed._

_And it was a glorious sound._

* * *

**Chapter 17**

**The White Butterfly**

* * *

There were two funerals later that week, both on Friday.

Sakura didn't go to either of them.

She wondered if her absence was noticed. She didn't particularly care. At the funeral for Temari and the children…there would be no bodies, and too many glares would be directed her way, too much hate that would pierce through her and in turn, hurt Mikomi. She wouldn't allow Mikomi to feel that kind of loathing.

At her grandmother's funeral…it would just be a reminder that she was now an outsider and always would be. For Mikomi's sake she would go for the reading of her grandmother's will two days after her funeral. But aside from that…Sakura remained secluded inside of the Uchiha compound. She liked it that way. It gave her time to think…time to decide what she should do now that the Akatsuki were finally making their move.

What _could_ she do…other than fight back?

She was quietly setting the table when she felt Itachi's presence at the door. She looked up briefly, then looked back down at the china plate in her hands. "Yes?"

"Mikomi is becoming worried."

_I'm worried._

Sakura gave a small smile. "I know I…I'm sorry…I'll talk with her later today, alright? We're going to be fixing up the garden in the backyard."

_Because I _will_ fight back if I have to. No one is taking my precious daughter away from me._

Her desire to protect those she loved was the only thing keeping her upright these days. She clung to it, because it was her only stability.

Well…she stuppoed she had one more. Her green eyes flickered towards the dark-haired man standing in the doorway.

"Hn." Itachi grunted with a nod, before sitting down at the table. "I will be at the Police compound. Sasuke has asked for my assistance."

It felt so strange to hear him speak so casually about it. As if he and Sasuke hadn't spent the majority of their lives trying to kill one another. Well, Sasuke had been looking for revenge. Sakura had to wonder what exactly it was Itachi had been waiting for. She placed a plate down on the table and quickly turned so Itachi wouldn't see her troubled gaze.

She began chopping vegetables, eyes half-lidded as she did so. She remembered long ago, when Gai had come back with an unconscious Sasuke in his arms and rushed him to the hospital. He had suffered from his brother's Tsukuyomi, they said, like Kakashi-sensei.

There was a small thunk as the knife hit the chopping board with more force than was needed. So many contradictions and puzzles…Sakura's entire life was full of them. She wondered if Itachi had done it to force Sasuke to become stronger? What was the reason…surely he wouldn't have wanted Sasuke to go to Orochimaru?

Itachi cleared his throat behind her with a small 'hn', and Sakura turned to speak when the door opened.

"Damn." Kisame groaned, rubbing his head, "Do you have to be so loud, kitten?"

"No one was talking, Kisame." Sakura sighed in agitation, brandishing her knife and waving it under his nose threatingly. "You need to stop drinking. I'm not going to heal your liver every month just so you can continue on like this."

"Yes ma'am." He grinned impishly, and Sakura rolled her eyes, even as she gave her own smile. It was nice, to think that a semblance of normalcy could be maintained, even through all the pain and loss.

"That little squirt keeps finishing my crossword puzzles for me." Kisame slumped down into a seat beside Itachi. "I'm going to have to hide them."

Sakura sighed, "Well, it _is_ your fault for leaving them on the table. Get her some of her own if you don't want her doing yours. She loves them."

"Yeah." Kisame nodded, and that was when Sakura placed two pills and a glass of water in front of him. The sound of the glass hitting the wood made him wince.

"Take this." She ordered firmly, looming over him to make sure he swallowed the medicine. He grimaced, making a face as if he would protest, but decided against it as he cupped the pills, tilted his head back, and threw them into his mouth, swallowing them in one steady motion. He grabbed the water and took a few sips to help them go down before placing it back on the table.

"Happy now?"

Sakura merely turned back to the counter and continued fixing the steamed rice, miso soup, pickles, and dried seaweed for their breakfast.

"I will be going now." Itachi stood from the table, his voice its usual monotone that Sakura found comforting now. So strange…for something that had annoyed her greatly when she'd first met him, she found the trait soothing now. Oh, it still annoyed her, undoubtedly, but for different reasons. It was his way of shutting others out, a way to hide himself so that no one would know that he was a hero and not a villain and that annoyed her more than anything. But at least…it didn't mean he was cold and unfeeling as she'd used to think.

Now, it was just something unchangeable and unshakeable, and she relished in the fact.

"If you wait a few minutes, I'll have a bento ready for you." Sakura called, but didn't look at him, merely continued fixing breakfast. It was so strange, to stand in the kitchen and cook a meal for her husband before he headed off to work.

It was surreal, and she almost laughed, except for the small memory that drifted into her mind at that moment.

"_**There's this one memory that always comes to mind when I think about how I want my life to be. I see my mom standing at the kitchen counter cooking, and my dad walks in. He comes up behind her and grabs her around the waist and he kisses her cheek. She smiles like she's the happiest woman alive as he asks her about her day. And then they'd sit down at the table with me and just…just talk about normal things. I've always…I've always dreamt of that…"**_

She stilled, eyes glazing over with nostalgia. Yes, she'd said those words to Sasuke and now…now…she swallowed.

"I will eat after I speak with Sasuke."

"Right." Sakura nodded, and she felt rather than heard him leave the room. His steps were too quiet for her to hear anyway.

_No kiss on the cheek…I guess it isn't like I expected._

And she gave a hesitant smile as she continued cooking.

_I don't think I'd change it for anything in the world, though._

* * *

"Is Sakura alright?" were the first words Sasuke spoke to him. He'd gotten a grunt of acknowledgment when he'd first entered the police headquarters, and then the two had drifted into tense silence. But really, it was more than most would expect. It wasn't too long ago that Sasuke would have leapt over his office desk, Chidori in hand and Sharingan blazing.

It truly was an improvement, from that standpoint at least.

Or rather, from Ino's. She'd clocked in for her shift at headquarters thirty minutes before Itachi's arrival. She'd been going over a minor land dispute case with Sasuke when he'd walked in. It was at these times that she really missed just being able to kick someone's ass and intimidate them into agreeing with her, but when working with civilians—the Uchiha Police's main job—she couldn't afford to act cruel and callous, especially if she didn't want the elder council breathing down their necks.

Well, the effect of Uchiha Itachi walking into the police department—sauntered, he had an air of complete control and confidence around him—was instantaneous. Hands went for kunai and other assembled weapons. Eyes narrowed into fierce glares. Words like 'traitor' and 'murdering bastard' filtered into the air.

To his credit, Itachi ignored them all with his usual indifference, striding up to the main desk where Sasuke stood with Ino. In fact, Ino couldn't help but be impressed with his total lack of emotion at all. He really didn't give a shit what they thought about him.

A point in her book, even if he _was_ a former Konoha missing-nin. Ino knew that Sakura loved him, and she would do all she could do try and be cordial to him. She could tell that Itachi cared for Sakura—as much as it was humanly possible for an ice block to love anyone—and so she was going to try her hardest to reach out and…make friends.

It was a suicide mission and she knew it, but she merely plastered a bright, tight, plastic smile on her face and turned to him. "Hello Itachi-san!" She didn't say Uchiha, because it just seemed wrong…especially in the Uchiha Police Headquarters…the man had killed every Uchiha save for his little brother, so he probably didn't think of the name fondly either.

He didn't turn to look at her, but his eyes flickered her way for a second before turning back to his brother. He loomed over Sasuke even now. Watching the two brothers standing so close to each other, it was hard not to just sit down and compare them.

So she did just that--minus the sitting.

Itachi's face was more angular than Sasuke's—from what Ino remembered of their mother, she'd had a soft, round face , slim nose, and large dark eyes—and Sasuke had definitely inherited more from his mother than his father. Itachi had the lines beneath his eyes like Fugaku, though his were definitely more pronounced, and not brought about by age. Or was it merely because he had been forced to grow up so quickly at such a young age?

Anyway, she was deviating from the point. Sasuke had spoken to Itachi and she was waiting—unabashedly listening—for his answer. Sasuke gave her an almost irritated glance, but Itachi's gaze remained on his brother.

"She is fine." The deep monotonous baritone. It sent shivers down her spine. She wasn't sure if it was the sheer coldness to it, or the way it hung in the air, thick and heavy and unbearably sexy.

_Ah! Stop thinking such things about your best friend's husband, Ino! And he's a _criminal_. What the hell is wrong with you?_

But really, it wasn't difficult to be entranced by him. He was gorgeous, and she would openly admit it. It was a cruel, noble kind of beauty. Sasuke's allure came from his moody, brooding nature and pensive gaze. Itachi's was a different kind altogether: a dark, mysterious power. If she had to describe it, Sasuke would be a bright flame: brilliant and eye-catching and _hot_, and Itachi would be the smoke: illusive, dark, and _choking_. Just standing next to the two was making it hard to breathe.

She took a step backwards, but hid it by turning to grab a stack of files she'd left on the front desk. She felt like she was intruding, as the two brothers stared each other down. She cast a glance around the room and noticed that everyone else had stopped what they were doing to watch them as well.

She frowned, before straightening out the papers and calling out in a loud, snapping tone. "Don't you all have work to do? These cases won't solve themselves! Let's get to it, shall we?"

They all jolted out of their stupor, and the shuffling of feet and lowered voices filled the building once more. Ino turned to the two brothers, "Maybe you should go to your back office, Sasuke-san. You two can speak privately there."

Sasuke shrugged, "Right. Ino, make sure I'm not disturbed."

"Right!" She chirped, giving them both another bright smile before they walked past her. Or rather, Sasuke walked—with the nimbleness one expected from a shinobi—and Itachi glided. It was as if his feet never touched the ground. The world moved for him, he did not move for it.

_Like smoke, most definitely._

* * *

"I asked you here just because I wanted your opinion on something." Sasuke managed gruffly when the door closed behind the two, shutting them out from the rest of the building.

"Hn."

Sasuke merely grunted in reaction to his brother's comment—or lack thereof—and sat down at his desk.

"How does it feel?"

Sasuke blinked, looking up at his brother's question. "What?" A snap, because how could he do anything else?

There was something mocking in Itachi's eyes as he answered. "To sit behind that desk. Father's desk."

Sasuke bristled at the tone. "What of it?"

"Is it as great as you dreamt?" Again that mocking slight, which made Sasuke's eyes glitter crimson before returning to their normal charcoal.

"Shut up. You don't know anything. I'm in a position of respect now, Itachi. I doubt you'd understand what that entails."

Itachi let Sasuke's insult roll off of him like water on a beeswax cloak. "Indeed. The feeling of hypocrisy, the weight of father's greed, I've never experienced it."

Sasuke stood abruptly, and his chair clattered to the ground. "Take it back!"

Itachi straightened himself up—had he been slouching before?—and his full height made Sasuke feel small again. He'd always felt small and insignificant when standing next to his brother. He reminded Sasuke of their father: a figure of power and authority that demanded respect. A giant.

There was a look of cruel defiance in Itachi's eyes, the look of one who enjoyed Sasuke's anger of the insult to their father. Then his gaze changed, shifting so quickly Sasuke barely saw it, and it softened in regret. It disappeared quickly as well, and his was emotionless once more.

"You didn't call me here to hear my opinions on father and the clan." He sat down smoothly in the chair in front of Sasuke's desk, completely unaffected with the fact that Sasuke was still standing, now bearing down on his brother. Sasuke wondered if he was giving him this moment out of pity, the chance to look down on his elder brother.

No, Itachi would never indulge him like that. In fact, he'd probably done it to show Sasuke that even as he sat down in the chair, unarmed and seemingly defenseless, he could still defeat Sasuke without a fear. He didn't view Sasuke as a threat, even now.

"_**You're too weak to kill."**_

He gritted his teeth in anger, before he noticed that Itachi was looking up at him expectantly—boredly—waiting for him to speak. Sasuke deflated in a moment. It wasn't worth it. This anger…he had to get over it if he wanted to make Sakura happy. He hated Itachi—nothing would take away that hate—but he could at least tolerate him and accept his presence. Like Sakura had said…you love family unconditionally. It was painful, that old love and respect mingling with his loathing for the being sitting across the desk from him.

He lowered himself into his own seat, feeling older than he was. His muscles ached and his bones felt creaky and brittle. He merely leaned back, his hair hiding his eyes…hiding the small lines that were forming at the corners that reminded him disgustedly of his brother and regretfully of his father.

He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, collecting himself before he continued. "I wanted to know your thoughts on Akatsuki's attack."

"Mm." Itachi nodded. "Shouldn't your Hokage be asking me this question?"

"Naruto is busy." Sasuke bit out irritably. Busy in a political meeting with the grieving Gaara and their other allies, allies whose leaders were currently in a panic over their newfound danger. If they were allies of Konoha, would the Akatsuki attack them as they had the sand kunoichi? Was it worth the Akatsuki's wrath?

Idiots.

Didn't they know they'd die if Akatsuki won anyway?

"Very well." Itachi gave another precise nod. "Akatsuki will continue their attacks to whittle down Konoha's allies and then strike when Konohagakure is friendless and defenseless."

Sasuke grimaced. He'd figured as much.

"Leader-sama will have also gained allies from the other nations, enemies of Konohagakure."

"Stone." Sasuke thought aloud and was rewarded with a nod. "And…Cloud?"

"It is highly probable. Sakura and another member were sent to Cloud at an earlier time to speak with them about something. It was most likely about an alliance in this upcoming battle." Itachi laced his fingers together and rested his chin upon them in a pose eerily similar to Sasuke's own.

_Two of the most powerful shinobi villages. But Iwagakure, after the loss of their Tsuchikage, will be conflicted and unorganized. We'll have to use that to our advantage._

"Mist is another possibility. They will see this as a change to attack Konoha and take out one of the powerful villages."

_Damn._

Sasuke gave a curt nod. "So all of the other large villages will be against us. And Sand may very well decide to disband their treaty with us as well." _We'll have to rely on smaller villages, just like before…_but would it be enough?

"Is that all you wished to speak to me about?" Itachi drawled. "Sasori has already relayed information to you on the current Akatsuki members and what we know of each of their abilities." He stood.

"What about Sasori?"

"Hn?"

"Can he be trusted?" It was so ironic, asking his brother—the man who killed his family and left him alone—whether or not someone else could be trusted.

"I would not guarantee it." Itachi answered back coolly. "But he is a valuable ally at the moment. Merely refrain from speaking of important details in his presence, in case he is a double agent. I would think that would be proper protocol for a security officer."

Sasuke bit back a retort. "Is it safe for him to be living in the same home as Sakura and Mikomi?"

"If you are meaning to insult me by implying that I cannot protect my own wife and daughter…" Itachi turned to look at him with a glare of disdain. "…you have succeeded."

Sasuke swallowed, because the air in the room became unbearably cold and breathing began to hurt.

"He is being watched. The best place for him to be under surveillance is in our home. Do not doubt that." And Itachi merely continued towards the door. "That is all you wished to address, is it not?"

It was, but Sasuke couldn't help the small panic that rose in him at the sight of his brother's back. Leaving him. Again.

"Do you want to spar?"

Itachi froze, his hand reaching for the doorknob. He slowly turned, seeing Sauske looking at him defiantly, with a hint of embarrassment on his face, as if he hadn't meant to say it aloud.

It reminded Itachi of a younger Sasuke, of an insecure little boy who tried his hardest to get his father's approval and who cried to his mother when he neglected him.

A bond that he'd thought was severed was hanging by a string, still salvageable. It was waiting, should he choose to grasp it. His brother was waiting for him to do so.

Another moment of silence, before Itachi slowly lifted up his hand. Sasuke stiffened, as Itachi reached towards him.

Another time and another place flashed in his mind, the familiar scene.

_Poke._

"_Maybe next time, Sasuke."_

But the hand fell short, coming to rest at his side as if it hadn't moved at all. And Itachi merely turned away.

"Sakura is waiting for me."

_Next time, Sasuke. I promise._

But as he opened the door and walked outside, he could hear the thread snap. Gone. He closed his eyes briefly before closing the door behind him and walking out of the building. He strained his eyes, listening, waiting, wondering if Sasuke would run out of the building to catch up with him, to follow him relentlessly as he had done when they were younger.

He didn't come.

Halfway back to the Uchiha compound, Itachi had finally convinced himself it was for the best.

Another bond would be troublesome, and his brother needed to continue hating him. That hatred would be his only support in this world, after all. The strength it seemed to bring him, and the comfort that came with it—with the feeling of his life having a purpose _revenge_—was all he could cling to.

His brother would be unable to handle the truth anyway. Too weak, his little brother. Let him live the rest of his life with the memories of a prideful, stern father and a kind, loving mother.

The truth would be too painful.

It usually was.

* * *

Konan slid open the door to her room absently. She placed her sopping wet cloak on the ground near the entrance, too tired for anything else. Her blue eyes were weary as she made her way towards the bed, ignoring her soaked hair and the sopping wet paper flower that hung limply on her head.

She merely pulled a small flower from her pocket and placed it carefully on the desk beside her bed. She cast a glance around the room, at the paper flowers that covered the place from head to toe. She sat on the bed, before curling up on her side and looking around at the paper garden she'd immersed herself in.

She'd just returned from Cloud, after Nagato had sent her off to ensure Cloud's assistance in their upcoming war with Konoha. She huffed. It wouldn't be a war. It would be a massacre. It couldn't be terribly difficult to destroy Konoha now, not when they'd weakened their bonds with their most powerful ally.

Yes…Konoha would fall, Madara would take Mikomi as his vessel, and they would create the world anew.

And maybe…just maybe…Nagato would smile again.

She reached out her hand towards the desk drawer and pulled it open, reaching inside. It was a gentle motion, a reverent one as she pulled out an old, faded paper crane. She cupped it gently in her hands as she sat up, staring down at it lovingly, running a finger softly along one paper wing.

"_Konan!"_

_Konan blinked, looking up from the new sheet of paper she'd begun folding. It was a gift from Jiraiya, a sheet of metallic silver wrapping paper. He'd seen her looking at it longingly in a shop window in Rain and had surprised her with several sheets of it the other day. She'd already made him a paper toad out of one sheet as a gift._

_It was at that moment that her musings were cut off as she heard the rapid footsteps approaching her door. The modest home was comfortable, albeit small. She was only given her own room because Jiraiya said it would be best if she didn't sleep with the boys._

_The door burst open and Yahiko appeared a second later, frowning. "Konan!"  
_

_"What is it?"_

"_He's crying again!" Yahiko snapped out._

"_Am not!" Came a muffled call from behind him. Yahiko walked into the room and sat down on Konan's pallet with a huff, glaring at the boy standing in the doorway._

"_Yes you are! You're such a crybaby!"_

"_Don't call me that!" The black-haired boy snapped back, sniffling. He wiped his nose with the back of his sleeve, before looking over at Konan, trying to stop his small whimpers._

_Konan frowned, glaring at Yahiko. "Yahiko! Stop saying mean things like that to Nagato!"_

"_But it's _true_—" Yahiko argued hotly._

_Konan smacked him on the side of the head, "You're such a bully! Nagato isn't a crybaby! He's just sensitive!"_

_  
"How is he going to be shinobi if he cries all the time?" Yahiko huffed, even as Nagato sat on Konan's other side, as far from the other boy as possible, glaring at him through his tears._

"_You don't have to be mean to be a shinobi." Konan rolled her eyes, absently folding paper as she went. "Jiraiya-san isn't mean and he's one of the strongest shinobi in the world."_

"_Yeah, he's the strongest ever!" Yahiko agreed with a bright grin, and Nagato nodded fervently._

"_Anyway," Konan continued, "You just have to be kind and protect those you love and you can be a shinobi, like Jiraiya-san said."_

_Yahiko seemed to mull over her words before giving a small nod of ascent. "Ok fine. But…when do you think he's coming back?"_

_Konan shrugged, ignoring the small pang of sadness that filled her at the thought of Jiraiya gone again. His visits were fewer and farther in-between these days, and she knew it was because of his duties as a shinobi of Konoha._

_War…always seemed to tear her apart from those she loved._

"_I hate it." _

_Yahiko and Konan both blinked in surprise at the sound of Nagato's voice. He was no longer sniffling, and his hands were clenched into fists in his lap. "I hate it!"_

"_Hate what?" Yahiko asked on confusion._

"_War!" Nagato grumbled. "It keeps Jiraiya-sensei away and it made us orphans I…I hate war! I wish there was no such thing as war!"_

_Yahiko went silent beside him, and Konan looked between the two before giving a small smile—ignoring the pain that she felt at the remembrance of her lost family—"Well then, come and help me make cranes!"_

"_Eh?" Yahiko raised an eyebrow. "How is THAT going to help? The only thing we can do is train and become strong so that we can protect each other and stop war ourselves." Nagato nodded in agreement._

_Konan merely giggled. "There's an old legend that says if you fold 1000 paper cranes, you'll get one wish."_

"_A wish?" Yahiko seemed interested now, as he leaned forward to look at her handy-work, at the little silver crane in her hands. "How many have you made so far?"_

"_This is my first." Konan conceded sadly. "Jiraiya-san told me the story on his last visit."_

_At the mention of their mentor's name they became quiet again, shoulder's slumped in dejection. Finally, Nagato spoke._

"_What will you wish for if you fold 1000 of them?"_

"_I'll wish there was no such thing as war, of course!" Konan chirped brightly, holding the crane out. "So just you wait, I'll make our wish come true, I promise!"  
_

_The two boys merely smiled at her in return, before the three began laughing heartily as the two boys hugged her and the crane lay on the ground, forgotten for the moment._

Konan idly traced the crumpled beak of the crane, her gaze melancholic. _Is it so bad that I changed what I want my wish to be?_ She held the crane to her chest and flipped over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling.

_All I want is for Nagato to be happy. That's my wish._

And she fixed her gaze upon the hundreds of cranes on her ceiling, each dangling from a small piece of string. The bright colors burned into her eyes and if she closed them, she swore she could still see each individual crane perfectly.

_Only 56 more to go before I make you happy again Nagato…_

…_I promise…_

* * *

Sakura knelt on the ground, reveling in the smell of the earth around her. Beside her sat Mikomi, looking curiously on as her mother placed the large handful of sunflowers to her left. She looked her mother over for a moment, wondering at how easily her mother could make herself seem cheerful and happy, even when she wasn't. Her hair was tied back with a handkerchief, and she was wearing a dirtied apron over her usual yukata and slacks.

She turned to Mikomi with a bright smile—it didn't reach her eyes—and spoke, "Let's get planting then, shall we? We'll have the most beautiful garden in all of Konoha!"

Mikomi nodded, trying to ignore the twisting in her gut at the sight of her mother's smile. She knew her mother only smiled because she wanted everyone else to be happy. She didn't want them to worry. But Mikomi was like her father, she could read her mother easily. Their family was like that…able to understand everything in a glance.

"Now Miko-chan, we'll have to be very careful with these sunflowers. I don't think Ino can give us any more for free so we'll need to treat these with care." She gave another small smile. "Of course, we can always go back and buy more if we need to, right?"

Mikomi nodded solemnly.

"Alright, here's how we'll start. I'll do one and then you can try, ok?"

Another nod.

Sakura dug a small hole in the earth with her hands, ignoring the gardening trowel beside her. She liked working with her hands, and the feeling of the cold earth sticking to her hands and digging beneath her fingernails just felt…right.

"Did you know that sunflowers move to follow the sun, Mikomi?"

A shake of the head, but a spark of interest in her eyes. Sakura's smile grew at the sight. "They follow it because it's what they need to survive. They make food with sunlight."

Doubtful, Mikomi raised an eyebrow in question. How could something make food out of sunlight? And if it was true…could humans do it too? It would make shinobi a lot more efficient, wouldn't it?

"I promise." Sakura laughed, "It's one hundred percent true. Now watch how I put the plant down in the soil. Don't dig the hole too deep, but deep enough that the flower has support."

Mikomi bit her lip and fastened her eyes onto her mother's hands, watching the demonstration with interest.

"Then you push the soil back into the hole and pat it down, like this." Sakura finished, "Now the sunflower is right at home. Isn't it pretty?"  
Yes, the stain of yellow in the garden was beautiful, and it made Mikomi give a hesitant smile along with her nod this time. The garden behind their house had been overrun from lack of weeding years ago. Wild flowers ran rampant, so much so that Mikomi didn't know which ones had been planted in the garden before and which were just weeds that had sprung up during the gardener's absence.

All the weeds and flowers in the area were pink and purple and blue and white. The bright gold of the sunflower was like a beacon, and Mikomi liked how strange it looked compared to the hydrangeas and azaleas, and camellias.

"Ah look…what a pretty butterfly, Miko-chan!"

Mikomi blinked at the sound of her mother's joyful cry. She looked for the source of her excitement and saw a pale-colored butterfly fluttering through the rows of flowers.

Sakura reached out her hand tentatively and let it rest in the air, waiting. The butterfly hovered near but never landed. A small gust of wind arose, and the butterfly turned, flying towards one of the newly planted flowers for shelter.

"Mmm…" She hmmed softly as she bent down again, digging into the soft ground. Mikomi did so beside her, silent as ever.

"You know Miko-chan…the butterfly reminds me of a story."

Mikomi looked up, her eyes curious and expectant. Stories from her mother were always exciting, even if they weren't from the big book.

"It's called _The White Butterfly_." Sakura picked up a fallen jinchoge blossom and cupped it in her palm. Mikomi hugged the large sunflower close to her and waited for her mother to continue.

She did, with a small smile. "_An old man named Takahama lived in a little house behind the cemetery of the temple of Sozanji. He was extremely amiable and generally liked by his neighbors, though most of them considered him to be a little mad. His madness, it would appear, entirely rested upon the fact that he had never married or evinced desire for intimate companionship with women. _

_One summer day he became very ill, so ill, in fact, that he sent for his sister-in-law and her son. They both came and did all they could to bring comfort during his last hours. While they watched, Takahama fell asleep; but he had no sooner done so than a large white butterfly flew into the room and rested on the old man's pillow. The young man tried to drive it away with a fan; but it came back three times, as if loath to leave the sufferer. _

_At last Takahama's nephew chased it out into the garden, through the gate, and into the cemetery beyond, where it lingered over a woman's tomb, and then mysteriously disappeared. On examining the tomb the young man found the name "Akiko" written upon it, together with a description narrating how Akiko died when she was eighteen. Though the tomb was covered with moss and must have been erected fifty years previously, the boy saw that it was surrounded with flowers, and that the little water tank had been recently filled. _

_When the young man returned to the house he found that Takahama had passed away, and he returned to his mother and told her what he had seen in the cemetery. _

_"Akiko?" murmured his mother. "When your uncle was young he was betrothed to Akiko. She died of consumption shortly before her wedding day. When Akiko left this world your uncle resolved never to marry, and to live ever near her grave. For all these years he has remained faithful to his vow, and kept in his heart all the sweet memories of his one and only love. Every day Takahama went to the cemetery, whether the air was fragrant with summer breeze or thick with falling snow. Every day he went to her grave and prayed for her happiness, swept the tomb and set flowers there. When Takahama was dying, and he could no longer perform his loving task, Akiko came for him. That white butterfly was her sweet and loving soul."_"

Mikomi could see the tears in her mothers eyes then, and she knew she was thinking about Temari-san, and the little children, and the old woman with the kind smile and the bright eyes that was her mother's grandmother.

Mikomi reached over and held out her sunflower hesitantly—she really liked it, but if it would make her mother happy, she'd give it up—and waited for her to take it, looking down at the ground in embarrassment.

"Miko-chan…"

Mikomi merely gave a small frown and waited. Sakura finally gave a small laugh and nodded, taking the flower and wiping her tears from her eyes. She leaned down and gave Mikomi a quick kiss on the forehead. "Thank you, Miko-chan."

Mikomi shrugged, squirming a bit under her mother's attention before beginning to plant another one of the sunflowers. She thought about the white butterfly coming to the grave of its lover and that was when a bird gave a loud, shrieking trill and she blinked, her lips titling upwards.

"_**Deidara will always live forever right here." Sakura pressed her palm against Mikomi's heart. "So don't worry, ok? Every time you see a bird just remember…it's him sending you a nice little kiss and a 'hello Miko-chan'."**_

It must be true then, right? Because her mother said it and the story said it.

Loved ones are always there, always watching over them. She opened her mouth, wanting to tell her mother that it was ok, because Temari and the children and her grandmother were all watching out for them. Maybe Temari was in the wind that she loved to control, and the children were in the ringing of the academy school bell. And maybe her Grandmother was in the tea that she always used to drink. But no sound came out, the words stuck in her throat and she tried hard _so hard_ to get them out, but her throat constricted and she shut her mouth a second later, angry at herself.

So instead, she grabbed the wooden bucket from behind her and dragged it to where her mother was planting the last sunflower and gently poured it some water.

She met her mother's eyes for a moment and thought that maybe, just maybe her mother understood anyway, even if she couldn't say it with words.

That's what Mikomi loved about her mother.

She didn't need words.

* * *

**(A\N: Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. So this chapter was basically just a look into the feelings of a few of the characters. Konan, Itachi, Sasuke, and Mikomi, mostly. The next chapter will feature more Naruto, Gaara, and Shikamaru, as they will be main characters in the battles that are to come (I'm hoping to fit Gaara in there somewhere :)) This chapter was a bit filler-ish, but that is mostly because the real fun begins in the next chapter. Yes, that's right…the ending war will finally begin! I can't believe that Shisui will be over in a few chapters…but at the same time, I'm a bit happy to see it coming to a close. It's been so much fun to write, and a great series, but I've been itching to begin Delicate Flower, and I can only do that when this is finished. Besides, this story needs its closure. :D **

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	19. Chapter 18: The Art of War

_It must be true then, right? Because her mother said it and the story said it._

_Loved ones are always there, always watching over them. She opened her mouth, wanting to tell her mother that it was ok, because Temari and the children and her grandmother were all watching out for them. Maybe Temari was in the wind that she loved to control, and the children were in the ringing of the academy school bell. And maybe her Grandmother was in the tea that she always used to drink. But no sound came out, the words stuck in her throat and she tried hard __so hard__ to get them out, but her throat constricted and she shut her mouth a second later, angry at herself._

_So instead, she grabbed the wooden bucket from behind her and dragged it to where her mother was planting the last sunflower and gently poured it some water._

_She met her mother's eyes for a moment and thought that maybe, just maybe her mother understood anyway, even if she couldn't say it with words._

_That's what Mikomi loved about her mother._

_She didn't need words._

* * *

**Chapter 18**

**The Art of War**

* * *

Naruto had always hated political meetings. They were worse than paperwork, in his opinion, merely because he was forced to be nice to everyone and pretend that he _didn't_ hate the guts of the bureaucrat sitting across the table from him.

It almost made him regret becoming Hokage. Almost.

But this meeting was worse than normal. The death of Temari and the children had hit them all hard, and it hung in the air like a poisonous smog. Naruto shot a furtive glance to the redhead sitting a few chairs to his right. Gaara seemed to be holding up relatively well.

Anyone who didn't know the once-Shukaku container would believe that the stoic man was normal as ever. But aside from his siblings, Naruto knew him the best—understood him better than even they did, most likely—and he knew that Gaara was silently grieving.

It was in the dullness of his usually sharp jade eyes. The way his head was cocked slightly to the side as if he were actually listening when he _never_ would have done something like that if he were in his right mind. Gaara didn't make himself look like he was listening intently if he didn't want to. People had to earn the right to be taken seriously by the infamous Kazekage. That kind of attention wasn't bestowed upon just anyone.

It hurt Naruto to see his friend like that. He didn't have siblings, so he couldn't relate in that aspect. But…he remembered the heart-wrenching pain he'd felt when Sasuke had betrayed the village so long ago, and the mind-numbing nothingness when Sakura had been thought to be captured by Akatsuki and then killed. They were like his family, and so he likened the experience to that.

Except that Temari wasn't coming back.

Naruto reached up and rubbed his forehead, feeling a dull pain begin to throb. He seemed to be getting headaches a lot lately from all of the meetings he'd been going through. It was aggravating, and the only thing keeping him going was the promise of a steaming bowl of ramen when he got home—courtesy of Hinata, of course, who had learned to copy Ichiraku's recipe to perfection.

Tsunade gave a loud sigh from where she sat beside him, and Naruto's gaze briefly flickered over to her. Her age was beginning to show, he noticed. Or perhaps she just didn't care as much anymore. Her honey-colored hair now held streaks of gray, and there were small wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. Yet her golden eyes were sharp as ever, and he knew her infamous temper would be released at any provocation—or mentioning of 'obaachan'.

He also knew that her temper was mounting. She had wanted to get back to the hospital at a reasonable time to go over some difficult cases. Even with Shizune and Ino working double shifts, the workload on all of them was harsh and demanding. When Sakura had been a member of Konoha it had eased somewhat, since she was the only one besides Tsunade who could do the most difficult cases. But it was forbidden by Konoha law for her to work as a certified medic-nin in the hospital at the moment, since she had not been reinstated as a Konoha shinobi—nor would she be, if the council had their way.

One of the civilian council members let out a dry cough, which seemed to bring everyone out of their lethargy.

Unfortunately, it was also when Choshi Atsumori decided to speak. "The absurdity of this situation comes from the inadequacies of the Hokage's…trust system." An elderly man, Atsumori was an old ally of Danzou, and had taken over his position as the head of their 'movement'. He never missed a chance to belittle Naruto and his style of leadership, which was merely a continuation of Tsunade and the Third Hokage's.

Naruto bit the inside of his cheek to keep from growling at him—_remember the ramen, remember the ramen!_ "And what inadequacies are those?"

"You have let four former members of the Akatsuki enter Konoha unharmed, and have even allowed them to live in this village peacefully!"

Naruto tried not to be distracted by the mole on Atsumori's upper lip, but every time he shouted it moved—and he had to fight his laughter. He wondered how it was possible that he could find something humorous at a grim time like this.

Murmurs broke out among shinobi and civilians alike at Atsumori's words, and Naruto was reminded of the serious situation again, making him frown a bit.

"The fact of the matter is, without the former Akatsuki as our allies, we will have very little information on the enemy before us." Hiashi commented coolly from his place beside the Fire Daimyo—a man who was looking around fearfully at the other shinobi clan heads. "While you may not trust them, is it not better to have Akatsuki on our side when fighting their former teammates?"

"Uchiha Itachi and Haruno Sakura have both betrayed this village before, and all the members of the Akatsuki are missing-nin who have turned their backs on their villages. Who are we to believe that they won't just betray us again?" Atsumori called out angrily.

"He's right! What if they're spies?" A clan head whom Naruto didn't remember well growled. Naruto wasn't surprised. He didn't know the man's name but he recognized him enough to know he was one of Danzou's old supporters as well.

A ripple of fear seemed to spread through the civilian leaders present. The shinobi clan heads remained passive and calm, though their eyes flickered with apprehension. Everyone was thinking the same thing.

Could they trust traitors? Especially those that had harmed them in the past? Uchiha Itachi had _killed his entire clan_.

"Enough." Tsunade's voice was still commanding and forced everyone to silence, even after she had retired as Hokage. It seemed that her authority over the shinobi and civilians alike had not waned. She sat at Naruto's right, while Jiraiya was at his left, as his highest representatives in the council. "This talk is getting us nowhere. It is obvious that the council is divided on this subject. The 6th Hokage of Konoha was merely acting on what he believed was best for Konohagakure."

"…heh. What was best for Konoha, eh?" Atsumori sneered.

Tsunade sent him a swift glare and he actually shrank away from her.

"I believe…that they can be trusted." Came a gravelly call from the back. The entire council turned as one at the newcomer, who bowed his head in respect. "Forgive my lateness."

"Lord Haruno!" Naruto choked out.

Sakura's father gave a shallow smile and another nod. "My daughter may have become a member of Akatsuki, but she has never once done anything to intentionally endanger Konohagakure. Our village is built on the strong bonds we hold between our civilians and shinobi alike. If we sever those bonds, we will no longer be able to uphold the Will of Fire that has become so dear to us."

At the mention of the will of fire everyone looked remorseful. It was a sad reminder of the Third, but a needed one. Their village was built on those principles, after all.

Lord Haruno simply sat down in his designated seat, looking as calm as ever. But Naruto saw it, the look on his eyes and the small frown on his lips. He was trying to make amends to Sakura somehow. Naruto wondered if the death of Sakura's grandmother had affected the family more than he'd thought.

"Well," Atsumori managed to collect himself, clearing his throat. "The fact of the matter is that the Akatsuki are targeting Konohagakure for the Kyuubi, and we don't even know where the Kyuubi _is_." He shot a baleful glare at Naruto.

"It's safe." Naruto assured, his voice soft but forceful.

"You don't know that! All you know is that it's not in the Akatsuki's hands!" The clan member who supported Danzou and Atsumori called out.

"We don't even know THAT for certain." Atsumori added arily, sending a sneer in Naruto's direction once more.

"If it were in Akatsuki's hands." Gaara cut in gravely, "We would all already be dead."

Atsumori opened his mouth to protest when the door burst open. The double doors slammed into the wall with a loud bang at the momentum of the push, and a figure slumped to his knees at the entrance.

Atsumori stood from his chair, face red with anger. "What is the meaning of this? This is a private meeting!"

Tsunade had already rushed forward, hands glowing green. It was then that the others took in the shinobi's appearance. He was heavily wounded, his shoulder oozing blood. The momentum of his fall to the ground caused it to splatter at his feet. He was panting, and blood speckled his lips.

He wore the yellow arm band of a runner—the shinobi in a scouting group that was the fastest and who could relay information back to the village quickly—and his Jonin vest was shredded and frayed on the ends.

"What happened?" Naruto had already stood, his blue eyes hard and serious.

"…Cloud…Stone…" The man swallowed, wetting his throat with saliva before he continued. His voice was a bit less raspy as he went on. "The Eastern and Western borders are…completely surrounded. Cloud and Stone have…allied themselves with…Akatsuki. They've…declared war on…Konoha and all those who aid our village…"

"WHAT?"

"…they've been attacking the towns…that we have trade agreements with…" The man coughed, and blood splattered on Tsunade's shirt-front as she continued healing him. She didn't seem to notice the blood at all as she continued healing and he continued speaking. "I just came back…from Shiranoi village. It's been completely…destroyed…"

There was a moment of stunned silence before chaos erupted in the council room.

Everyone was shouting, as Tsunade calmly tried to heal the dying man in front of her. Jiraiya was shouting for order. Atsumori and everyone else were shouting to be heard above the others.

Naruto met Gaara's gaze across the room. Both nodded gravely, and Naruto finally spoke.

"Enough." The cold finality of his tone caused the room to go silent. Tsunade looked up from her patient in surprise.

"I want all able-bodied shinobi to report to the Hokage Tower immediately. I want the representatives and heads of all our allies to meet with me in the war room." He swallowed. "The war with Akatsuki has begun."

* * *

It was raining.

It was more like a slight drizzle, but it was enough to dampen Shikamaru's Konoha vest and make him pull out the umbrella from his vest pocket and open it. He looked up at the sky before tilting the umbrella a bit to the right to cover up his companion, giving her a shallow smile. His smiles these days were never more than a simple, sardonic twitch of his lips. It almost seemed painful to try and smile anymore.

"You could catch a cold if you got wet. It'd be troublesome."

Karura looked up at her father, before giving his hand a squeeze. "Auntie Ino could heal me."

"Tch." Shikamaru grunted as they continued down the street. "It isn't that simple. You can't just cure a cold. Sicknesses and injuries are different. Medic-nin have to treat them differently too."

"Oh." Karura nodded, looking down at her shoes, even as the rain began to fall harder. She could hear each distinctive plop as the raindrops hit the vinyl umbrella. The silence became unbearable again, and she was thankful for the sound of the rain. Ever since that day…she clenched her eyes shut and gritted her teeth. She didn't like to think about it, but she knew that she had to. Every since that day, her father never really smiled. He was more quiet than usual, and he spent most of his time going over papers for the Hokage or sitting in front of the shogi board.

Sometimes Karura sat with him and played. But she knew that when they played, her father wasn't really there. He was thinking up strategies, plotting a way to save the village and maybe—just maybe—kill the people who had killed her mother and little brother.

Karura felt tears well up at the corners of her eyes and she hurriedly brushed them aside before her father could see them. She sniffled, and it caught his attention.

"Karura?"

She mustered up a teary smile. "I think I have a cold."

"You haven't been out in the rain."

"It's a cold." She defended hotly, even as her voice broke on a little sob. She looked down at her feet and Shikamaru was left looking on helplessly. He knew that during all of this time Kirara had been silently mourning the loss of her mother and brother. He had been too caught up in his own pain, and even as he tried to understand Karura's loss he just couldn't find the strength to smile and comfort her.

It felt like a betrayal to Temari and Yashamaru to smile.

He closed his eyes, listening to the sound of the rain and his sandals crunching against the gravel. He felt the cold droplets of rain as they hit his left shoulder—he'd moved the umbrella over too much for Karura to cover up all of himself as well—and the warmth of Karura's hand as she gripped his own tightly.

He smelled the moist air and the passing scent of cooking food that drifted through the streets.

But above it all he heard Karura's small hiccups as she tried her hardest not to cry aloud. Each of her shaky inhalations shot a lance of pain through his chest, and he tightened his grip on her own hand in comfort.

The rain began to lessen a bit, and he blinked in surprise as the harsh sound of raindrops hitting the umbrella stopped. He opened his eyes and noticed that they'd walked under the overhang of a large gate.

The gate to the Uchiha compound.

There was a tug on his hand and he looked down. Karura was looking up at him hopefully through red-rimmed eyes. "Can I go see Mikomi?"

Shikamaru's throat tightened with emotion, and he swallowed. "I…" He let out a slow breath.

"Let's go." Shikamaru muttered gruffly, tightening his grip on her hand and leading her away. He got three steps from the compound gate before a familiar voice called out to him.

"Shikamaru? Is that you?"

Karura lifted her head and smiled softly—a strained smile. "Aunt Ino!"

Shikamaru looked back towards the gate. Ino was standing there in her bleached medic-nin jacket, her hair put up into a messy bun, as if she'd done it while walking. A steamed bun was held in one hand, a single large bite taken out of it.

Standing beside her, avoiding his eyes, was Sakura. She was dressed in a brown yukata with a black and bronze striped obi, and black slacks underneath it. She looked every inch the matriarch of a powerful clan, so different from the energetic, bubbly young girl he knew back at the Academy. Her daughter Mikomi stood a little bit behind her, hiding behind her legs. She peered at him curiously, her gaze carefully blank.

"What are you doing here?" Ino broke the tense silence. "I have a shift at the hospital, but there's a pretty delicate case I'm working on and I was asking Sakura for some advice. Are you two going for a walk?"

"Yeah." Karura whispered, looking hesitantly from her father to Sakura and Mikomi. Mikomi gave her a quiet smile and she smiled back.

"We're about to have lunch." Sakura ventured, taking a step forward. Her geta were splattered with mud from the rain, and they squelched in the muddy, packed earth of the compound street. "Would you like to join us?"

Shikamaru swallowed, looking up hesitantly. He avoided her eyes at the last moment. He couldn't muster the courage to do so yet. Anger and hatred—and guilt and sadness—welled up inside of him at the thought.

He opened his mouth, ready to decline, when a Konoha jonin landed on the ground in front of them.

"Nara-san! Yamanaka-san!" His eyes shifted to Sakura. "…Uchiha-san." He was breathing heavily, as if he had run a great distance. His clothes were torn and splattered with mud, but he seemed otherwise unharmed. He wiped a strand of wet hair from his eyes and it stuck to his cheek.

"What is it?" Ino questioned.

"All able-bodied shinobi are ordered to head to the Hokage's Tower." He panted, eyes feverish with excitement and fear, "Cloud and Stone shinobi have been spotted heading through Konoha's outer borders."

"What!?" Ino gasped out, and Sakura inhaled sharply.

The Jonin nodded rapidly. "It's true! They've begun to attack outlying villages that have allied themselves with Konoha. It's said that they've joined Akatsuki's ranks, and that two of the Akatsuki members are leading the way from the East."

That was near the Valley of the End, if Shikamaru remembered correctly. He stiffened, squaring his shoulders, before he looked up at Sakura. Their eyes met, harsh, determined gazes locked, and she nodded.

Both turned to Ino. "Look after the kids." And then they sped off in the direction of the Eastern Gate.

"WAIT!" Ino yelled out as the two disappeared, and she was left with a confused Mikomi and Karura. The messenger looked from Ino to the disappearing figures of the two shinobi. He then nodded respectively before heading off down the road.

"Ack! Wait!" Ino yelled, cupping her hands and shouting. "Dammit Sakura! You're not even a Konoha shinobi anymore! AGH!"

Her hands fell to her sides, and she let out a long sigh.

"…aunt Ino?"

Ino blinked, looking down at Karura, who had grabbed her hand.

"What's going on?"

…

…

…

"…I wish I knew, kid."

* * *

The trip through the forest was made in complete silence. Sakura could barely hear anything besides the wind rushing past her and the frantic beating of her own heart. Shikamaru was a good few meters ahead of her, but he was slowing minutely, whether from exhaustion or something else she wasn't certain.

She knew that he'd panicked and acted on instinct the moment he'd heard about Akatsuki. He wanted revenge, after all.

She swallowed, gaze worried as she landed on a branch and pushed herself off again, her geta clacking against the bark. She was worried that Shikamaru might forget everything in his attempt to avenge Temari and Yashamaru.

She had come along not only to help Shikamaru fight—because there would be more than on Akatsuki member, and they might have backup Cloud and Stone-nin as well—but to remind him that he had something else to live for.

Karura.

There was no point in giving up on living if he was going to hurt others who were precious to him. Karura had no one else to turn to now. She needed him more than ever. Sakura knew that, because Sakura had needed to do the same thing to support Mikomi after Deidara's death.

Karura needed a loving smile to wake up to each morning, and Sakura was going to make sure Shikamaru gave it to her!

It was at that moment that they burst from the trees and landed at the edge of the large lake at the Valley of the End. Sakura's throat constricted as she looked up at the large statues of the 1st Hokage and Madara that loomed over them. Shikamaru had stopped to look as well, and his gaze was troubled. It seemed her was mustering up his courage, as well as trying to calm himself down. That was good, Shikamaru still remembered that a level head was needed for this kind of battle.

Sakura's gaze lingered on Madara's stone form. Uchiha Madara…he had been the reason for Deidara's death and so many others. He had been the one to ruin Tobi—Obito's—life and who had deceived all of them from the beginning. Sakura would never forgive him…but she also doubted she could defeat him.

He was too powerful, he and Pein seemed infinitely more powerful than herself and she wondered if there was any way she would be able to fight back and protect what she loved from them. It seemed like a hopeless case from the start.

"Akatsuki…"

Sakura blinked at the sound of Shikamaru's voice, and turned to look at him. His gaze was hard and fixed on the two statues.

"This isn't the first time Hidan and Kakuzu…have tried to take something precious from me."

Sakura knew he was talking about their first fight, when Asuma had almost been killed.

"The second time they succeeded…" His hand clenched around something, but Sakura couldn't see what he held tightly in his fist. "I won't let them get away with it." His words ended in a hiss.

He looked back at Sakura, "…Sakura…will you help me get my revenge…?"

For a moment Sakura paused, lowering her gaze. What should she do? Shikamaru might do something stupid in his anger if she said no. And besides…Temari had been her friend as well, and Hidan and Kakuzu were a threat to her own family. Finally, she looked up and their gazes locked.

"Let's go." She gave a stiff nod and the two launched themselves across the lake, their chakra-laced feet barely skimming the surface.

When they reached the statues, Sakura pressed a hand to the base of the 1st Hokage and launched herself upwards, feet connecting with the stone and sticking with the chakra she'd placed there. She saw Shikamaru do the same, and they once again because their trek towards the allegedly attacked village.

Time seemed to slow as they made it over the edge, standing atop the heads of the statue, both breathing heavily. The run to the Valley's edge was long and harsh, and usually took a day or so. They'd done it in less time by using chakra, but they'd paid the price for that. They were tired, and had used up more chakra than they should have.

They used a minute or so to collect themselves, before straightening up and looked out across the horizon.

Sakura wished they'd waited a moment or so longer, so she could have prepared herself for the sight that lay before her.

"…my god…what happened here…?" Sakura whispered, staring down at the village in horror. All that was left were charred ruins, and a soft golden glow still hung over the vicinity, little flames licking the edges of wooden house beams not quite put out by the rain.

Bodies lay everywhere in the streets, some burnt beyond recognition, others dismembered. The smell of burnt flesh and blood met them with a gust of wind and Sakura saw Shikamaru grimace. She knew he was thinking of Temari, and she saw his hand clench around something, although she didn't have a chance to see what it was.

"Shikamaru—" But he was already gone, leaping down from atop the statue. She followed suit with a silent curse, jumping down. The air whistled around her, and soot flew into her eyes, making them sting. She braced herself for the landing, and barely felt it when her feet hit the earth. The movement caused mud to splatter all across the hem of her slacks, but she didn't take note of it.

She saw Shikamaru beside her, rubbing his eyes on his sleeve.

She reached out and grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn to face her. "What?"

Sakura reached into her back pocket. "We each…need to take a soldier pill, in case we meet any resistance."

Shikamaru nodded slowly, looking abashed at not having thought of that as well. He took one from Sakura's outstretched hand and swallowed it, ignoring the foul taste. No doubt it was one of Sakura's experimental soldier pills. She'd been working on several variations while in ANBU and had probably continued doing so while in Akatsuki. Of course, that meant they worked better than normal soldier pills, and for that he was grateful.

In fact, it didn't take much longer for a surge of energy to course through him, and his chakra reserves began to level out again.

He took a deep breath. "Alright…let's stay focused. I'll take the lead and you cover me from behind."

Sakura activated her Sharingan, and couldn't help blinking and the strange sensation of her vision changing—she'd never get used to it—before she gave a resolute nod. "Got it."

Shikamaru had already pulled out a kunai as he stepped forward, and Sakura reached into the hidden weapon's pack in her obi, ready to do the same.

They passed the first few houses without sensing anything. Sakura tried to ignore the rain, which had lessened enough that she barely felt it but was still hindering their sight. She had been soaked through long before this, and the feeling of wet silk clinging to her body would have been distracting if she wasn't aware of the danger she was in.

Her grip tightened on the kunai in her hand, and she scanned the buildings to her right and left, looking down the side streets for any signs of life.

"I hear something…" Shikamaru had stopped moving, tense as he cocked his head to the side. "It's coming from the center of the village. Use the 2-point ANBU formation."

"Understood." Sakura nodded, moving a few steps to Shikamaru's left, but still a bit behind him. They began heading forward at a moderately fast pace, but not running. They wanted to remain inconspicuous for as long as possible, after all.

It didn't take long to reach the center of the village, since it was a relatively small town. Sakura winced at the sight in front of her. The town hall stood in the center of the large space, and it was the only building that was still in one piece and not burning.

Swinging in the almost nonexistent wind were five bodies, all hanging from the roof.

Shikamaru was trembling in anger beside her, and Sakura had to bite her lip to keep from doing anything hasty. Three of the bodies had their stomachs cut open, and their intenstines were hanging out, dragging on the ground in a bloody mess beneath them. The smell of rotting flesh was overwhelming.

Sakura was thankful it wasn't summer, because she didn't think she'd be able to stand the sight of flies and maggots swarming around the corpses.

That was when a low moan issued from beneath a pile of rubble to their left. Both Shikamaru and Sakura tensed, hands on weapons, as they turned. All Sakura could see was a hand from beneath the charred wood, twitching slightly.

"It's a victim. I'll go check it out." Sakura called, taking a step forward. "Cover me if it's a trap."

"Got it." Shikamaru had already loosened his grip on his kunai, ready to let it fly and begin his shadow possession jutsu.

Sakura knelt in front of the rubble, letting chakra flow through her arms. She grabbed a hold of one of the largest beams and gave a small grunt, before lifting the entire mess and throwing it to the side easily.

A man had been trapped beneath it, and Konoha scout by the looks of it. Sakura supposed this was one of the men who hadn't been able to escape after they'd discovered the invasion by Stone and Cloud.

She reached down, hands glowing a soft green, to assess the situation. As soon as she looked over his wounds, she knew the chances of him surviving were slim. The man cracked open his eyes wearily, "…a message…for…" He coughed up a mouthful of blood. "…Hokage-sama…"

"What is it?" Sakura asked in a calm, soothing voice, even as she tried her best to keep the pain at bay. It was the least she could do in the man's dying moments.

"…trap…" He whispered faintly, his eyes fluttering closed. "…at the west valley entrance…tr…ap…" And then he stilled.

"We have to get this information to Naruto immediately." Sakura stood, turning swiftly towards Shikamaru. "We have to—" She stopped short as several chakra signatures spiked in her senses, and her eyes widened in shock.

"Would you look at that? The pink-haired bitch and the shadow-using fucker from before."

* * *

**(A\N : I'm sorry this chapter took so long ! My inspiration for writing hasn't been working very well, and I've been busy with school. But now that I've graduated, I can spend my summer vacation freely—yay! So hopefully the next update won't take as long, though I can't promise anything. I hope you enjoyed it…the battle begins now! Oh, and this chapter wasn't edited thoroughly, so try and ignore the mistakes...**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka**

**P.S. IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: I got a message from Anime\Manga Fanatic. Apparently there has been some mishap about plagiarizing between the two of us. Neither of us has stolen anything from the other, so please don't send her bad messages or anything. :) Thank you**

**Edit: you can definitly tell I didn't edit this well, I called Karura Kirara through it all. I just changed that, sorry!)**


	20. Chapter 19: You Are My Sunshine

**(A\N: Yeah. This is what you think it is. An actual update. Be proud. I force-fed myself inspiration after the horrific events of the Naruto manga to give this to you. And trust me when I say they are horrific. Really. I don't understand quite how anyone can enjoy what is going on. Let's just see how much Kishimoto can throw in his love for Sasuke into 17 pages of FAIL. Ugh. Sorry if you like the last few chapters, I've just grown sick of the plot. We're all entitled to our opinions, howver. XD I'm going to try and start updating my other stories as well, but we can't get ahead of ourselves, ok? It should come, but my inspiration for Naruto is waning…and I need to find some way to preserve it. So here you go…enjoy!)**

* * *

"_We have to get this information to Naruto immediately." Sakura stood, turning swiftly towards Shikamaru. "We have to—" She stopped short as several chakra signatures spiked in her senses, and her eyes widened in shock._

"_Would you look at that? The pink-haired bitch and the shadow-using fucker from before."_

* * *

**Chapter 19**

**You Are My Sunshine**

* * *

Sakura stood, slowly and deliberately, but not so slow that she wouldn't be able to block an attack or run if she needed to. She needed to show that she wasn't afraid. Because she would be damned before she let Hidan or Kakuzu think she was frightened of them.

Even if she was, just a little. Fighting two immortal beings wasn't an easy job.

She looked out of the corner of her eye at Shikamaru. His face was carefully blank, and Sakura knew that look was more dangerous than rage. She preferred it because it meant he had a plan, but the coldness made her shiver.

They were the eyes of someone who was ready to do anything it took to kill.

A true shinobi's eyes.

Hidan and Kakuzu didn't look any different than the last time she'd seen them. She was rather glad that the two hadn't stayed with the other Akatsuki members often. She'd never liked them, and the sight of them before her was already grating on her nerves. and the thought of what they had done to Temari made her blood boil. She could only imagine the extent of Shikamaru's rage at the sight of them.

Hidan gave a manic grin, a curl of his lips as the tip of his tongue rang along his canines. "Itachi's whore and the Sand-bitch's husband…aren't they a cute fucking pair?"

Kakuzu said nothing, but his eyes went from Sakura to Shikamaru calculatingly.

"Shikamaru, plan?" Sakura asked softly, because she didn't want to act without first knowing something. She could usually read his movements and intentions, but Shikamaru was a far better tactician than she was. The only person who could rival him there was Itachi. It was better for her if she had a foundation to base her attacks on.

"Two minutes, three shadows, and a bug."

Sakura smiled softly to herself, nodding resolutely. It was an order from their days in ANBU together. She knew the drill well enough. Now all she needed to know was who to attack first.

Hidan raised an eyebrow in mocking confusion. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

Kakuzu's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Which one?" Sakura looked from Hidan and Kakuzu, getting into a fighting stance, her left foot sinking a bit into the soft mud. She ignored the way it made her socks stick to the bottom of her geta.

Shikamaru's eyes went from Hidan to Kakuzu.

"Him." And he lunged in Hidan's direction. Sakura went for Kakuzu seconds later. She landed in front of her, slamming her fist forward. His image blurred and she knew she'd missed. She ducked, feeling a leg swipe over her head where her back had been.

Kakuzu was the fastest, and the physically strongest. Shikamaru had known that from the beginning, and he knew that he needed to get rid of Hidan as soon as possible and keep him away from Sakura. If Sakura were injured or her blood taken by Hidan, things would get bad.

Also, Sakura had a better chance of killing Kakuzu before he could sew Hidan back together. She knew about his masks and she'd trained with them before so she knew their fighting styles better than Shikamaru did.

Sakura twirled around, slammed her heel into the ground beneath her. It made a squelching sound due to the mud before the earth was torn apart. Kakuzu leapt into the air, and Sakura threw three kunai. He swept them away with his arm.

He was using his earth mask first, eh?

She had two minutes to get Kakuzu into place before she and Shikamaru perfected their plan. She already knew the point to get him to. She and Shikamaru had exchanged the information via a small glance before he'd gone for Hidan.

Actually, she had 1 minute and 32 seconds.

Enough time, if Kakuzu continued the way he was. She leapt into the air after him.

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage."

Sakura quickly began hand signs. "Earth Style: Mud Wall!" The ground in front of her erupted into a wall of oozing mud and rock. The blast from Kakuzu's attack hit it a second later and it shattered.

Kakuzu's eyes narrowed as he looked around as the mud fell back to the ground without its chakra support. Sakura had disappeared…a flicker of movement, near the center of the town. Kakuzu smirked beneath his mask, running in the direction of the chakra source.

Sakura flickered into sight a few feet from him, just as he saw Hidan chasing the Nara boy in the same direction. Hah, they'd get them both with one hit. At least they wouldn't have to chase the other one down after they finished one.

There was no point in using a mask. Hidan would just bitch at him if he got hurt and it was easier to asses if someone was dead if there were remains to look at. He moved and caught Hidan's eye. Hidan grinned manically and nodded, his scythe at the ready.

He slashed, just as Shikamaru was three feet from Sakura. The third scythe blade sliced the back of Shikamaru's vest, but there was no blood. He hadn't cut deep enough. But Shikamaru stumbled, and Sakura caught him, ducking into a crouch, just as Kakuzu slammed his hands into the ground.

They erupted right by her feet, locking her in place.

"Dammit!" She tried to force chakra into her feet, but she was unable to in time, just as Hidan's scythe came down, cutting through both her and Shikamaru.

"Che. Too damn easy." Hidan hissed. "Why didn't I get to at least sacrifice _one_?"

And that was when Sakura's body disappeared in a puff of smoke to reveal a gigantic slug sitting in her place.

"Huh?" Hidan blinked, and tried to turn to looked around him, "They're still out there—fuck!" He couldn't move.

Kakuzu knew that it was useless for him to try and move either. The Nara child had used his shadow possession in him, making the shadow travel through the earth from where he'd used his arms to capture Sakura.

Two minutes. They'd used two minutes because that was when the setting sun would get passed a certain set of trees on the other side of the village and hit the spot they'd been lured to. Three shadows. One for him, one for Hidan, and the shadow of 'Sakura' and 'Shikamaru' to bind them.

And the bug.

"It's actually not a bug, Shikamaru." Sakura murmured from where she stood on one of the few rooftops that hadn't been completely destroyed during the massacre.

"Yeah, well _slug_ is a bit easy to understand. Everyone knows Tsunade's apprentice summons them." Shikamaru muttered absently. "Just do it."

"Got it." Sakura nodded. "Kimoi, acid submergence!"

The slug seemed to take a deep breath and began swelling. It continued growing. Growing bigger and bigger. Kakuzu's apprehension grew along with it.

"Oh fuck it…" Hidan hissed. "Oh fuck it what the hell is that thing doing?"

"Dammit." Kakuzu snarled. He'd underestimated them.

The slug continued to grow until it was three times the size it should have been. It made an odd squelching sound—and then exploded, showering the entire area around them in acid.

Sakura watched as the few buildings caught in the cross fire began to disintegrate. Her Sharingan-filled gaze remained on their bodies. She heard Hidan cursing and screaming as his skin began melting, flesh sliding off of bone.

Kakuzu's stone armor was holding up, but she watched as it was slowly eroded layer by layer. It wouldn't be long now.

The screams faded away to silence.

"Do you think Hidan can die from that?" Shikamaru asked softly.

"I don't know." Sakura whispered. "He's immortal, but he doesn't have a body anymore, so I don't think—"

A large wall of fire and rushing wind suddenly loomed above them.

"Shikamaru!" Sakura screamed, leaping backwards and seeing that she wasn't going to make it to the man in time. Shikamaru had been weakened from using the shadow possession jutsu on Kakuzu and Hidan and holding them in place for so long. And the shadows were disappearing and weakening as night began to fall.

Shikamaru quickly did a substitution at the same time Sakura switched her own body with a small rock statue she'd seen at the front of the central square entrance. She let out a cough as ash and smoke erupted in the air, filling her nose and clogging her lungs.

"Shikamaru?"

Coughing to her right, and Shikamaru let out a small groan. "The whiplash of the wind got me." Sakura saw a chunk of wood sticking out of his shoulder. She crawled over to him and began healing it, trying to hold onto her chakra reserves. They would need them now, it seemed.

"That was Kakuzu's technique. It means one of them is alive, if not both."

"Let's just hope it's only one." Shikamaru winced.

"Heh, you wish." A taunting voice echoed through the smoke.

Sakura's eyes widened in horror, and she turned to see Shikamaru staring in a mixture of fear, despair, and unparalleled fury.

Hidan grinned sadistically, propping up the item of their horror on his shoulder. "Looks like that Sand-bitch was good for something. I'm fucking hot and this fan works wonders." He turned to where Kakuzu was slowly stepping out from behind a surviving building, "You should get one."

"Shut up and let's kill them."

Temari's fan. Hidan had Temari's _fan_. Sakura swallowed, and she saw Shikamaru trembling beside her. Fear or rage? She couldn't see, because she had to keep her eyes trained on the two Akatsuki members in front of her.

"Let's make this quick." Kakuzu grumbled, "I have things to do."

"Yeah yeah, shut the fuck up." Hidan argued back, his eyes never leaving Sakura. "I bet this bitch's blood tastes sweet. I never got a taste because of that fucking Uchiha."

"Quick and easy is nice." Came a voice from behind Sakura and Shikamaru. "So we'll step in. We don't have time to deal with you either."

Sakura let out a disbelieving laugh. "….Asuma-san…?" She and Shikamaru turned to see Asuma, Ino, and Chouji standing behind them.

"Mikomi is with Itachi, Sakura. You need to head back to the village now." Ino nodded at her seriously, her face twisting between rage and sadness at the sight of Temari's murderers. Chouji was shaking with anger, and Asuma seemed like the only one who wasn't affected, but Sakura knew that Asuma was just better at hiding it than the others.

"Right." Sakura whispered. "Can you heal Shikamaru, Ino?"

"I'm still a medic-nin, Sakura." Ino shot back. "I can heal something that simple."

Sakura nodded, before leaping backwards and heading into the trees.

Shikamaru stared at Asuma. "Sensei…I…"

"Can you stand?"

Shikamaru nodded.

"You and Ino will get Hidan. Chouji and I will take Kakuzu."

Another nod.

"War has broken out on all of the borders. We have to act fast and get this over with before this area is overwhelmed with Stone and Cloud forces."

* * *

"Kakashi, what the heck is going on?" Obito asked excitedly, running after his silver-haired friend. Beside him was Sasuke, silent and composed. Naruto had sent the three of them to secure their troops at the Western end of the village.

An ANBU team followed behind Sasuke, and several other Jonin surrounded their small group. They'd meet up with the rest of the shinobi when they got to the designated spot. Sasuke had argued with Naruto about leaving the Hokage alone. It wasn't like Naruto was without protection—Gaara was with him, after all—but Sasuke had seen himself as Naruto's chief bodyguard for years, so the act of leaving him alone was odd for him.

Kakashi didn't answer right away, and he didn't turn around as the group rushed through the forest. "Stone has attacked from this area. We have to hold the line until the Kazekage can come and fight the Tsuchikage."

Obito frowned. "But…why am I…?" Because he really remembered very little of his time 'asleep' and so his shinobi training wasn't as complete as it should have been. Would his instincts kick in from his time under Uchiha Madara's control?

"You have the Sharingan." Sasuke murmured from beside him, his own bloodline burning a deep crimson as they burst from the tree line. "That's all that's needed."

Obito frowned, but he didn't say anything else. Sasuke didn't look like the type of person he could yell at, even if Obito was technically older. But just having the Sharingan couldn't help him too much, could it? He didn't get the chance to think on it too much, because as they exited the tree line they came upon the battlefield.

The war had already begun.

Stone–nin and Konoha shinobi were locked in combat everywhere, kunai and the heavy feeling of chakra permeating the air.

"Do you see any Akatsuki?" Sasuke asked calmly as he landed beside Kakashi.

Kakashi scanned the battlefield. "Not yet."

Sasuke nodded, turning back to the ANBU. "Get all of the injured you can back to the medic-nin. It looks like they're located in the southeastern section of the encampment, at the base of the eastern tree line."

"Yes sir!"

Kakashi smiled behind his mask. Sasuke had come a long way since his genin days, and it made Kakashi's heart lift a bit. He hadn't failed, it seemed. Not with any of his students.

They'd all grown up to be fine shinobi indeed.

Suddenly a shiver ran down Obito's spine. At first he thought it was the adrenaline pumping through his body—this battlefield brought him back to his first days as a member of their old Genin team, when the war with Stone had just begun—but then he noticed a dark shadow walking through the carnage. His heart stuck in his throat, and it became hard to breath as his head throbbed and his vision blurred.

"Obito!" Kakashi was beside him in an instant, holding him steady as he began to sway.

"…he's here…"

"Who?" Sasuke asked sharply, scanning the crowd sharply.

…

…

…

"Madara."

* * *

Sakura was glad it was no longer raining when she arrived back at the Uchiha Compound. As she'd run through the streets, shinobi had been rushing past her in all directions, shouting out orders and calls to their squads. Genin were leading civilians to the hidden safe places within the Hokage cliff side.

It reminded Sakura of the attack by Sound during the Chuunin Exams, when she'd been a young Genin terrified out of her mind at the war going on around her. The only difference was that she was a little older, a little wiser, and a little more skilled. She still felt a twinge of fear at the shouts and screams and smoke, but she hid it well behind a calm face.

She landed in front of their home completely winded. She'd run all the way from the Valley of the End and her chakra reserves were lower than what she would have liked. She stumbled into the house, heaving a bit. "Itachi?"

He didn't answer, but he lowered the guard of his genjutsu so that she could feel his chakra fluctuation. She headed to Mikomi's room. She opened the door as quietly as possible and stopped. Itachi was standing beside Mikomi's bed, watching their daughter sleep. He looked up when she entered and gave a nod.

Sakura nodded back, walking up to him, trying to calm her breathing. Mikomi looked oddly peaceful.

"I placed a genjutsu on her so she'll sleep." Itachi explained, and Sakura was thankful he'd done so. Usually he wouldn't have deigned the need to do so, but she could tell that something was bothering him.

"I can feel Pein out there." Sakura whispered softly.

"Hn." He'd sensed his chakra as well.

Sakura swallowed, because her mouth and throat were dry. "I should…we should…we're the only ones who can deal with him."

"What about your Hokage?" The same nonchalant monotone. 'Yours' instead of 'ours', a distinction, a separation. As if he were still a criminal of Konoha and not its savior. But Sakura wondered if anyone would ever know the truth.

"Naruto doesn't have the Kyuubi in him any longer, he has a large amount of chakra but not the infinite amount he needs. Even Jiraiya in his Sage Mode cannot defeat Pein. They can't interpret his bodies' movements as well as we can with the Sharingan."

Itachi nodded, but whether he was agreeing with that she said or with the idea to fight Pein she wasn't sure.

"Naruto will have his hands full with the Raikage. He and Gaara are planning on taking out the leaders. If they can do that, the armies should scatter and all we'll have to deal with will be the Akatsuki."

"A sound plan." A compliment from Itachi? Sakura would have to tell Naruto about it later. He'd be on Cloud-9 for weeks. Sasuke would be jealous. Or would he? Probably not. Sakura wasn't sure about Sasuke and Itachi's relationship these days.

"We should leave soon. But who will stay with Mikomi?" Sakura whispered, staring down at her daughter. Tears stuck in her throat at the sight of her sleeping so peacefully. As if nothing were wrong with the world.

"Kisame is taking her and the Nara child with the others. He has been put in charge of guarding a large contingent of civilians, along with a group of Konoha and Sand shinobi."

Sakura nodded. She had expected that Kisame wouldn't be trusted with the civilians alone, but it was good to know that Naruto had thought ahead to making use of him. Kisame wouldn't have taken well to being left out of a fight. She figured that Kisame was currently with Karura, waiting for them to say goodbye to Mikomi before taking the two to safety.

Say goodbye.

Why did it sound so forboding?

Sakura knelt next to the bed, reaching out to brush a few strands of raven-black hair from Mikomi's forehead. Mikomi twitched a bit, but didn't awaken because of the genjutsu.

"Mommy loves you, Miko-chan…" Sakura swallowed back tears. "Ne…want mommy to sing?"

No response, but she hadn't expected one from a sleeping child. But Mikomi had always enjoyed hearing her mother's voice. And Sakura felt like just saying goodbye wouldn't be fitting.

_"You are my sunshine,_

_my only sunshine…"_

Itachi looked over to where Sakura stood, clutching Mikomi to her almost desperately as she sang softly. If Mikomi hadn't been under the genjutsu she would have awoken at the movement. As it were, she remained limp in her mother's arms.

_"You make me happy,_

_When skies are grey…"_

Her voice wavered a bit, and Itachi knew she was afraid. She kissed the top of Mikomi's head.

_"You don't know dear,_

_How much I love you…"_

Her eyes were closed, and Itachi saw two tears escape from behind her tightly clenched eyelids.

_"So please don't take…my sunshine away…"_

Itachi wrapped an arm around her waist--to comfort, and a way to tell her it was time to go--bringing her and Mikomi closer to him. It was a simple gesture, but Sakura took courage from his determination and confidence. He bent down, his lips almost brushing against the black curls atop Mikomi's head, before he took her from Sakura and placed her down on the bed once more. He'd hesitated at the last second, and Sakura knew why. He just couldn't let himself show that much affection. It was too much for him and even while Mikomi slept, he couldn't allow himself to be so vulnerable.

"Kisame will watch over her while we are gone." A confirmation, as if he were trying to convince himself just as much as he was trying to alleviate Sakura's worries.

Sakura nodded, her eyes never leaving Mikomi's sleeping form. She brushed a finger tentatively across one chubby cheek, giving a trembling smile. "Goodbye for now, Miko-chan…be good ok?"

Itachi bade farewell to his daughter silently, merely memorizing every line and contour of her body, embedding it into his mind forever. He turned to Sakura, and for a moment, he let himself do the same thing.

Then he turned toward the doorway, "Let's go."

Sakura followed.

* * *

**(A\N: Enjoyed it? Well I hope so. :) I don't know when the next chapter is but...it shouldn't take as long as the wait for this one, lol.**

**Sincerely, **

**Lady Hanaka)**


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